Why the credits are the best part of Concrete Cowboy on Netflix
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Jessica Kourkounis
Movie credits typically fall into one of two categories: an infinite scroll of second unit assistant directors, or a list of names you sit through to see yet another nugget of Marvel Cinematic Universe lore.
The closing of Netflix’s newest hit “Concrete Cowboy” is neither. The movie is excellent even if you don’t stick around past the final scene and will probably be shortlisted as an Oscar contender for 2022, but the movie is the unique case where the credits not only enrich the preceding film, but actually completely change the viewer’s perception of what they just watched.
The word ‘cowboy’ is fraught with imagery boots, horses and ubiquitous white men roaming the Wild West.
The Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, Black cowboys clad in Air Jordans riding up and down the streets of North Philadelphia, don’t quite fit that mold. They’re the real-life subjects of “Concrete Cowboy,” which aired on Netflix April 2.
“Concrete Cowboy” stars familiar faces like Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin of “Stranger Things,” but it also features real members of the riding club, a non-profit organization that aims to care for and ride horses in an urban area. It provides mentoring and training services to youth in the community.
CONCRETE COWBOY
(Netflix)
In Northern Philadelphia, the sight of Black men and women on horseback, actual urban cowboys, is a common sight. They follow the more than a century old tradition of ending to and riding the animals within the city.
Co-writer (with Dan Walser) and director Ricky Staub based his film on âGhetto Cowboy,â a novel by Greg Nero.
Cowboys in Philadelphiaâs horse riding culture, the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, run into trouble with law enforcement and city officials, who favor Philadelphia continuing on the path of gentrification. Into this strange world, troubled Cole (Caleb McLaughlin) of Detroit is left with his father Harp (Idris Elba), a man who has a horse staying in his living room.