Following acclaimed dramas Weekend and 45 Years, writer/director Andrew Haigh tells a heartfelt tale about finding family where you can – as centred on a 15-year-old boy and his adopted steed.

"It’s just a horse," jockey Bonnie tells Charley; however, to a shy kid who’s never known unconditional love, Lean on Pete is much more than that. Working the low-end racing circuit with the animal’s owner, the teen finds a kindred spirit in the past-its-prime nag – and, when the glue factory beckons, a reason to take charge of his life.

Reuniting Boardwalk Empire co-stars Charlie Plummer (whose performance won him the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor at Venice) and Steve Buscemi alongside Chloë Sevigny and Travis Fimmel, Haigh’s fourth feature – adapting the novel by Willy Vlautin – is a tender but never sentimental take on the boy-and-his-horse genre, as well as a clear-eyed road trip through the struggles and troubles of America’s midwest.

"A compassionately observed story told with unimpeachable naturalism … propelled by a remarkable performance from Charlie Plummer that’s both internalised and emotionally raw." – The Hollywood Reporter