THE KID (2019) Production Notes
Everything You Need to Know
The story of a young boy who witnesses Billy the Kid's encounter with Sheriff Pat Garrett after reaching out to the legendary outlaw for help saving his kidnapped sister.
PRODUCTION NOTES
The American Southwest, 1879. Poor families struggle to get by in towns just at their infancy. Lawlessness runs rampant in an environment where the rules have either not been designed, or have no means of being enforced. In this dangerous, exciting world, thirteen year old Rio (Jake Schur) finds himself with a horrible choice. His violent and unpredictable father is beating his mother, as he has done so many nights before. Rio knows this night is different, that he must act in this moment if he wants to save his mother's life. He steals his father's gun and shoots the man, killing him dead, right on the spot. Through this horrible act, Rio has saved his own life, and the life of his older, teenage sister Sara (Leila George). Both are horrified to find that their mother has already died. They have no time to morn their loss. Rio's uncle Grant (Chris Pratt) lives in their town, a somehow meaner bastard than even his now-deceased brother. Rio and Sara both know that if they stay, it will mean their certain death. Even if they run, there is no telling if they will be able to survive. But they have to try.
After a quick and violent confrontation with Grant, they flee. With only each other to rely on, they rush off against the backdrop of the Southwest, knowing that Grant, at any moment, could be right behind. Their only hope is in finding a friend their mother spoke of once in the far off town of Santa Fe. One night later, the young siblings are too tired to run any farther. They fall asleep inside a small shack in the middle of a clearing. When they wake up, the famous outlaw Billy the Kid (Dane DeHaan) stands over them, a group of his lawless cohorts standing around them. Rio and Sara have unexpectedly wandered into a most dangerous part of American history.
Most of Billy's men want the children thrown outside, but Billy knows Sheriff Pat Garrett (Ethan Hawke) is right behind, chasing him just as Grant must be chasing Rio and Sara. He keeps the children in the shack with them as they all get some much-needed rest. Rio is in awe of the famous outlaw. To him, the presence of this dangerous criminal is the first good news they've had in days.
When the group wakes up, Pat Garrett and his men, all true men of the law, have found their hideout. A skirmish ensues, resulting in the capture of Billy and his men.
Despite Sara's reluctance, Rio lets their presence be known to Sheriff Garrett. A gruff, taciturn man, Garrett eventually agrees to help the children get to Santa Fe. Over the new two days, Rio will grow to understand the dangerous dynamic between Billy and Garrett that has played out over the past few years. He will see positive and negative aspects in each man and will begin to wonder which one of them he truly wishes to become as he continues his all too rapid journey of becoming a man.
When Santa Fe is reached, Rio and Sara run off. They find the friend of their mother, only to discover that Grant has found her first. Furious with his nephew for taking the only living soul that he has ever cared about, Grant kidnaps Sara, telling Rio that he will kill them both should he ever find them. Without his sister, alone in the world, Rio is faced with a choice. Will he give up, or try to save her life? This will lead to Rio's ultimate decision: he must find Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. One of them will surly help him.
With passion and sudden purpose, Rio rushes away from Santa Fe, not knowing that he is heading straight toward the dangerous, violent final months of confrontation between two of the most notorious characters the American Southwest has ever seen.
