Assistant editor turned director Andrew Haigh has quickly become well-known for working on films that carry a harrowing emotional quality to them, whether it's
45 Years or
Weekend or
Shanghai Knights. His newest directorial effort, Lean on Pete, carries on this tradition by telling the story of Charley Thompson (Charlie Plummer), a 15-year-old kid who lives with his single father, Ray (Travis Fimmel), in a trailer home in Portland, Oregon. Charley's life is one filled with struggles as his dad, who's still emotionally recovering from Charley's mom walking out on the both of them years prior, barely makes ends meet financially, spurring Charley to make some money at the local racetrack doing odd jobs for Del Montgomery (Steve Buscemi).
