Seabiscuit (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
To drive home a point, one quote is repeated throughout 'Seabiscuit' (directed by Gary Ross): "You don't throw a whole life away just because it's banged up a little." This quote refers to the come-from-behind victories of Seabiscuit (the horse), Red Pollard (his jockey), Tom Smith (his trainer), Charles Howard (his owner), emotionally-fractured Americans ... the list goes on & on. The Great Depression affected everyone. And Seabiscuit's success inspired (apparently) the struggling masses. Everything about this movie is well-intentioned, handsome-looking & enjoyable.
'Seabiscuit' takes place in the early 1900s and takes its' time introducing the main characters {which is fine by me}. We first meet Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges), a rich car salesman who's lost his way after the sudden death of his young son. His wife leaves him; & he's bereft beyond words. We then meet Tom Smith (Chris Cooper), a horse trainer/whisperer who believes that caring for lame animals is the right way to go -- killing them isn't always a certainty. Tom's the kind of inward, laconic type who'd rather converse with horses than actual human beings. He's looking for some redemption in his life, as well. And finally, we meet Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire), a half-blind orphan who grows up & fails as a boxer. As you can see, everyone needed a pick-me-up; and the Great Depression didn't help matters.
Charles hires Tom to find him a winning horse. And 45 minutes into the movie, Tom first lays his eyes on Seabiscuit. Though he's small, injured, and a constant disappointment on the track, Tom sees great spirit in Seabiscuit & believes he can win championship races. Charles then re-marries a woman named Marcela (a gorgeous Elizabeth Banks). And he enlists Red Pollard as his jockey. Within a relatively short amount of time, Red rides the diminutive Seabiscuit to several surprise victories in the West (breaking records along the way!).
Now rightfully cocky, Charles seeks a one-on-one match with Triple Crown winner, War Admiral. His owner, Sam Riddle (Eddie Jones, of A League of Their Own) is initially hesitant to compete. But thanks to Charles' vehement public campaign (what could be one of the greatest horse races of all time), Riddle agrees to the challenge. You can take a stab at how the race plays out {cue the tissues!}. The radio broadcast of the race (voiced by William H. Macy) had one of the largest audiences in history. I mean, businesses closed for God sakes. After a string of victories, however, our protagonists run into some hard times. Red breaks his leg, as does Seabiscuit. And the film's climactic comeback race is one of great poignancy & great inspiration.
'Seabiscuit' has many strengths. One of which is its ensemble cast. Jeff Bridges is stellar as the downtrodden-but-always hopeful leader. Chris Cooper, coming off of last yrs. Oscar winning performance in Adaptation, shows a completely different side of himself. Elizabeth Banks is great as Bridge's encouraging wife. And Tobey Maguire impresses as the struggling Red Pollard (bulimia & alcoholism also trip up his life, at times). Other strengths of the film are its beautiful cinematography, its sense of time & place, & the incredible editing of the horse racing scenes. You really get a strong sense of the danger & thrills that come from sitting atop one of those beautiful creatures at high speed.
The period production design & costumes are impressive and look incredibly accurate. The colors pop. The textures are lush. I would like to have seen a grittier palette, at times. But that's a minor complaint. Another issue (however tiny): the screenplay lacks a bit of flair. That's not to say it is dull. What I mean is ... a voice-over narration is often used to explain certain events and/or character happenings. The voice-over isn't bad. But there is rarely a scene where any character just gets to talk freely. Everything from the script is a bit mannered; or expected. That said, 'Seabiscuit' really is a gloriously satisfying piece of work, overall. As the ending faded to black, I found myself VERY moved; far more so than I ever thought I could be.
'Seabiscuit' takes place in the early 1900s and takes its' time introducing the main characters {which is fine by me}. We first meet Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges), a rich car salesman who's lost his way after the sudden death of his young son. His wife leaves him; & he's bereft beyond words. We then meet Tom Smith (Chris Cooper), a horse trainer/whisperer who believes that caring for lame animals is the right way to go -- killing them isn't always a certainty. Tom's the kind of inward, laconic type who'd rather converse with horses than actual human beings. He's looking for some redemption in his life, as well. And finally, we meet Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire), a half-blind orphan who grows up & fails as a boxer. As you can see, everyone needed a pick-me-up; and the Great Depression didn't help matters.
Charles hires Tom to find him a winning horse. And 45 minutes into the movie, Tom first lays his eyes on Seabiscuit. Though he's small, injured, and a constant disappointment on the track, Tom sees great spirit in Seabiscuit & believes he can win championship races. Charles then re-marries a woman named Marcela (a gorgeous Elizabeth Banks). And he enlists Red Pollard as his jockey. Within a relatively short amount of time, Red rides the diminutive Seabiscuit to several surprise victories in the West (breaking records along the way!).
Now rightfully cocky, Charles seeks a one-on-one match with Triple Crown winner, War Admiral. His owner, Sam Riddle (Eddie Jones, of A League of Their Own) is initially hesitant to compete. But thanks to Charles' vehement public campaign (what could be one of the greatest horse races of all time), Riddle agrees to the challenge. You can take a stab at how the race plays out {cue the tissues!}. The radio broadcast of the race (voiced by William H. Macy) had one of the largest audiences in history. I mean, businesses closed for God sakes. After a string of victories, however, our protagonists run into some hard times. Red breaks his leg, as does Seabiscuit. And the film's climactic comeback race is one of great poignancy & great inspiration.
'Seabiscuit' has many strengths. One of which is its ensemble cast. Jeff Bridges is stellar as the downtrodden-but-always hopeful leader. Chris Cooper, coming off of last yrs. Oscar winning performance in Adaptation, shows a completely different side of himself. Elizabeth Banks is great as Bridge's encouraging wife. And Tobey Maguire impresses as the struggling Red Pollard (bulimia & alcoholism also trip up his life, at times). Other strengths of the film are its beautiful cinematography, its sense of time & place, & the incredible editing of the horse racing scenes. You really get a strong sense of the danger & thrills that come from sitting atop one of those beautiful creatures at high speed.
The period production design & costumes are impressive and look incredibly accurate. The colors pop. The textures are lush. I would like to have seen a grittier palette, at times. But that's a minor complaint. Another issue (however tiny): the screenplay lacks a bit of flair. That's not to say it is dull. What I mean is ... a voice-over narration is often used to explain certain events and/or character happenings. The voice-over isn't bad. But there is rarely a scene where any character just gets to talk freely. Everything from the script is a bit mannered; or expected. That said, 'Seabiscuit' really is a gloriously satisfying piece of work, overall. As the ending faded to black, I found myself VERY moved; far more so than I ever thought I could be.