Let Him Go

In Montana, 1961, retired sheriff George Blackledge lives on a ranch with his wife Margaret, their son James, James's wife Lorna and infant son Jimmy. One afternoon, Margaret sees James's horse out on its own and senses something is wrong. When George goes out to the woods, he finds James's body by the creek; he had fallen off his horse and broken his neck.

In 1963, Lorna marries her new boyfriend, Donnie Weboy; it is obvious Lorna is not in love with Donnie but needs his support with Jimmy. One afternoon while out shopping, Margaret sees Lorna, Donnie and Jimmy getting ice cream. When Jimmy drops his, Donnie forcefully grabs Jimmy's arm and, when Lorna steps in, Donnie strikes her. Margaret later goes to their house to check in on Lorna, but a tenant tells her the three of them have left town. Margaret goes home and packs her bags with the intent of going to rescue Jimmy, and although George is reluctant, he joins her.

George and Margaret speak to a local sheriff who gives them a lead in Forsyth, Montana, a shop owner who is related to the Weboys who tells them to look in Gladstone, North Dakota. George is startled to discover that Margaret brought his revolver with her, but she strongly feels she will need it. Outside of Gladstone, they come across a young Native American man named Peter Dragswolf. He provides them with some food and warmth for the evening, and tells them to look for Bill Weboy, who turns out to be Donnie's uncle.

The following morning, George and Margaret travel and meet Bill. Bill speaks to Donnie's mother, Blanche, who says she wants to meet the Blackledges. At her house, Blanche initially appears pleasant but later, when Lorna and Jimmy arrive, she starts to show her true colors, making rude comments toward the Blackledges and speaking sternly toward Lorna. The next day, George and Margaret visit Lorna at her job and take her to lunch. They plead with her to return home to Montana with Jimmy, but Lorna is worried what Donnie will do if she tries to leave. However, she is convinced to sneak out later while the Weboys are asleep.

Later that night, Blanche, Donnie and Bill, along with Blanche's two other sons Marvin and Elton, break into the Blackledges' motel room. Margaret tells Blanche that Donnie struck Lorna and Jimmy. Blanche asks Donnie if it is true, slapping him and then Margaret to ask how hard he hit Lorna. When she orders him to hit Margaret, George grabs his gun and points it at them. The men overpower him, and Blanche orders Donnie to chop off his fingers with a hatchet, which he does. When they leave, Margaret takes George to the hospital. A local officer visits them to tell them that he spoke to the Weboys, who made it seem like George attacked first since he and Margaret planned to abduct Jimmy. He tells the Blackledges that Jimmy is a Weboy now and suggests they leave town.

Defeated, George and Margaret make their way back to Montana, but when George is too weak to keep going, they stop by Peter's again to rest. Peter talks to Margaret and tells her about how men once stormed his village and took children away from their families and then tried to "wash the Indian" out of them. When he returned to his grandmother, they couldn’t understand each other anymore. Knowing she must stay close to family, Margaret asks George if they can move out there to be near Jimmy. George says he is done and wants to give up. Margaret breaks down, devastated that they have lost both James and Jimmy.

During the night, George sneaks out and goes back to the Weboy house. George finds a shotgun on the Weboy's back porch. He checks and replaces the shells in the gun. He sets a fire outside as a distraction and then makes his way into Donnie and Lorna's room, where he forces Donnie down at gunpoint while Lorna leaves. Meanwhile, Margaret notices George has gone and rushes with Peter to find him. George knocks Donnie unconscious when he tries to alert the others. Blanche wakes up as George fights Bill, and Lorna tumbles down the stairs. Blanche aims her pistol at George as he gets Jimmy back but she accidentally shoots Bill in the face, killing him. George then throws Jimmy over the balcony to Lorna, who catches him as Blanche shoots George in the chest.

George musters enough strength to fight her for the gun as Marvin and Elton run upstairs, only for George to cause Blanche to shoot both of them. Margaret and Peter find Lorna and Jimmy outside. Margaret rushes in to try and get George out. Blanche corners them and shoots George again, this time killing him. Margaret then grabs the shotgun and shoots Blanche dead. Peter gets her out as the Weboy house goes up in flames.

As the morning comes, Margaret parts ways with Peter and drives home with Lorna and Jimmy. She weeps for the loss of George, but looks over at Jimmy, knowing that he is finally safe.

• Official website
• Let Him Go at IMDb