The real surprise here is Heger, who, at 11 years old, takes on a complicated role with absolute conviction. [Full review in Spanish]

The whole story turns on how this scared young girl becomes a tough, tragic redeemer through this wild, unlikely journey. Her fear, her joy, her rage, and, finally, her anguish make She Rides Shotgun unforgettable.

While you might assume She Rides Shotgun would surrender to saccharine by its end, Rowland and his leads hew true to the gritty edges of what Harper envisioned, not allowing these characters... to become overly sentimentalized — till it’s warranted.

There’s never been a shortage of exceptional turns by those too young to vote — the past dozen years alone have seen Jacob Tremblay in Room, Brooklynn Prince in The Florida Project and Elsie Fisher in Eighth Grade — and Ana Sophia Heger joins their ranks.