History Vs Hollywood

Director Vincent D’onofrio Starring Dane Dehaan, Ethan Hawke, Chris Pratt, Jake Schur Country USA Released 2019

Does The Kid hold close to history or play fast and loose?

The legendary last days of a notorious outlaw reimagined through the eyes of a bystander

01

While much of The Kid is true to history, the core plot following a young boy named Rio Cutler and his older sister Sara is fictional. They’re escaping from their uncle and happen to cross paths with Billy the Kid as he’s on the run from Pat Garrett.

02

Speaking with Rio at one point, Billy explains he was orphaned as a 13-year-old. This is true, although it’s thought he was 14 or 15 in reality. His mother died of TB shortly after marrying for the second time. Billy fell into a life of crime quickly after that.

03

Garrett and his men are blocked from their journey to Sante Fe by local marshals, as happened in Las Vegas after Billy the Kid was captured. In both the film and reality, they leave Dave Rudabaugh behind to be tried locally while the others move on.

04

It’s accurate that Billy made his escape by claiming to need the outhouse, and tricking his sole guard, James Bell. The exact details differ slightly, but Billy then attacked Bell as they climbed some stairs, took his gun and shot Bell in the back as he tried to escape.

05

The final showdown between Garrett and the Kid is close to testimony of the event. Garrett was investigating rumours of Billy’s location around midnight and managed to shoot and kill the outlaw. In the film this happens outside; in reality they were indoors.