Parents' Guide to The Kid

The first major Billy the Kid movie since Young Guns II, this rough, sturdy Western is unflinchingly brutal. But it also offers thoughtful ruminations on the nature of violence and its repercussions. Directed by Vincent D'Onofrio -- who also appears as a sheriff in one scene -- The Kid explores violence in a way that's similar to Clint Eastwood's great Unforgiven, although more primitive. The Kid coaxes viewers into seeing Billy as a kind of hero while casting lawman Garrett as unpleasant and relentless. Billy is frequently high-spirited, but in a low moment he confesses his true misery -- and the realization that "no good moment I ever had weren't a lie." Garrett gets his own moment of confession, but he's more steadfast, claiming that "a man's wrongs matter, but there's nothing as important as what he does next."

Despite the star power of legends Billy and Garrett, Rio is actually the movie's main character, and young Schur -- making his movie debut -- holds his own with the veterans. DeHaan is the perfect Billy, cocky and lean, with yellow teeth from too much time in hiding, and Hawke is positively frightening as the intense, grim Garrett (he shoots a horse in his first scene). D'Onofrio, who's better known as an actor, seems to prefer concentrating on moments of character rather than visuals, but his grimy Western landscapes are perfectly suited to the story; most shots feel constricting, rather than the usual open ranges of other Westerns. The Kid may not be pretty, but it's truthful and keenly affecting.