NEW YORK 鈥� Historians estimate that 1 in 4 American cowboys were Black but you would be hard pressed to find a movie genre whiter than the Western. 鈥淐oncrete Cowboy,鈥� an urban Western about African American riders in Philadelphia starring Idris Elba, is about an often unseen 鈥� and persisting 鈥� Black cowboy culture.
鈥淐oncrete Cowboy" is a father-son drama set around Fletcher Street Stables, one of the oldest and last-remaining of Philadelphia's hardscrabble inner-city stables. It dates back more than 100 years to when horse-drawn wagons were used to deliver produce, laundry and milk. But through tenacity and improvisation, Fletcher Street has remained a cherished refuge and an ardent pastime for both kids and adults on the streets of Philadelphia鈥檚 Strawberry Mansion.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a tough
Neri first heard about the stables in 2008 when a friend sent him a link to a Life magazine article about Fletcher Street.
鈥淭he first image I saw was this Black kid on the back of a horse in the middle of the inner city in North Philly,鈥� says Neri. 鈥淚 had the reaction most people have, which is: 鈥榃hat is this? What鈥檚 going on here?鈥欌��
鈥淐oncrete Cowboy,鈥� which premiered last fall at the Toronto International Film Festival and debuts Friday on Netflix, shines perhaps the brightest light yet on an abiding community of Black cowboys now facing an uncertain future. It was shot in the vacant lots Fletcher Street cowboys ride in, and its co-stars -- alongside a cast of Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Method Man and Jharrel Jerome -- include many of the stables鈥� actual riders.
In a genre that鈥檚 been perpetually drawn to American myth and open plains, 鈥淐oncrete Cowboy鈥� is urban, contemporary and authentic.
鈥淢y dad was a big Western fan. I grew up sort of watching them with a side eye,鈥� says Elba, also a producer. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 occur to me until the Bob Marley song 鈥楤uffalo Soldier,鈥� which opened my interest about Black cowboys. And it occurred to me: I鈥檝e been making films forever and I鈥檝e never been offered a Western. You realize there鈥檚 a deep history that spans America and Africa over decades, centuries in fact, that you鈥檝e never seen in film.鈥�
As film historian Mia Mask, introducing a series on Black Westerns for the Criterion Channel, has noted: 鈥淗ollywood definitely whitewashed the image of the frontier.鈥� The word 鈥渃owboy,鈥� itself, was a racist term for a Black ranch worker. (A white one was a cowhand.) John Wayne鈥檚 character in John Ford鈥檚 鈥淭he Searchers鈥� was based on a Black man.
For the actors, encountering and enmeshing with the community was an eye-opening experience. McLaughlin, the 19-year-old 鈥淪tranger Things鈥� star, plays Cole, a wayward 15-year-old sent by his mother to live with his estranged father, Harp (Elba).
鈥淚t was all a new experience,鈥� says McLaughlin. 鈥淏eing in Philly, there are actually horses that live in people鈥檚 homes there. It鈥檚 not just two blocks of people with horses. It鈥檚 a whole community. There are people with cowboy boots walking around. There are babies riding ponies. I was like, 鈥榃ow, this is different.鈥欌��
Staub, making his directorial debut, had initially planned to shoot the entire movie with local non-professional actors.
鈥淥bviously, when Idris Elba shows interest in being in your movie, you pivot,鈥� he says, chuckling. 鈥淲hen I was talking with Idris, it was probably a little brazen, I said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 want this to feel like Halloween, like you鈥檙e playing dress up. To me, you need to do the most work to fit into this world and not vice versa.鈥欌��
Staub first learned about Fletcher Street while living in Philadelphia. One rider that he befriended, Eric Miller, introduced him around and they began to conceive, a little quixotically, of a movie. Miller, who had once been set to play Harp, was shot and killed just a week before prep began on the film. 鈥淐oncrete Cowboys鈥� is dedicated to him. Still, Miller鈥檚 vision helped guide the production.
鈥淓ric echoed something to me that really had a lot of impact. When he was growing up, he loved cowboy films. These guys even played cowboy videogames on their phones. Everything was about that cowboy life,鈥� says Staub. 鈥淏ut he didn鈥檛 have a film growing up where cowboys looked like him. What Eric wanted to leave was essentially a Western reimagined with the Black community.鈥�
On set, Staub was flanked by riders looking over his shoulder on the monitor or shouting lines to Elba. 鈥淚 recognized this was their story to tell,鈥� Staub says.
For Elba, who's also to star in the upcoming revenge Western 鈥淭he Harder They Fall,鈥� it was more like making a documentary.
鈥淚鈥檓 very open to telling stories that have a common truth but a unique perspective,鈥� Elba says. 鈥淧eople in London, in Hackney where I grew up, will watch 鈥楥oncrete Cowboy鈥� thinking it might be a Western and go, 鈥極h man.鈥欌��
The Fletcher Street Stables are also imperiled. The vacant lot its riders had long used -- and which they鈥檙e seen riding through frequently in the film -- is currently being developed. To survive, Fletcher Street needs a more permanent home. To facilitate that, the filmmakers have helped organize a
鈥淲e鈥檝e been losing these stables one by one to gentrification. Fletcher Street is one of the first and last. It鈥檚 kind of like our history is being erased,鈥� says Erin Brown, director of the Philadelphia Urban Riding Academy.
Brown, who served as a consultant, extra and stunt rider on the film, first started riding as a 6-year-old. She vividly remembers, as a kid, watching the cowboys riding down the street from her great-aunt鈥檚 porch. Since then, Fletcher Street has been her home.
鈥淵ou come to the stables and you feel this love,鈥� says Brown. 鈥淚t builds you as a person.鈥�
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
