Seabiscuit (2003)

Director: Gary Ross
Venue: DVD
DVD Features: commentaries, history, making of, photographs
Trailer

I had hesitated for quite some time before seeing Seabiscuit. For one thing, horse racing has never been an interest of mine. For another, I wasn’t sure that I could see Tobey Maguire as anyone other than Spiderman. Its amount of critical acclaim (it was nominated for 7 Academy Awards) didn’t convince me either. However, when my father rented this movie for one of his friends, I decided that I might give it a shot, if only for the fact that it was a movie I’d never seen (there aren’t many).

This movie is the story of a racehorse, Seabiscuit, and his jockey, Red Pollard (Maguire), who rise to the top of the racing world in depression era America. Because his parents lack the ability to provide for their many children, Red is left to live on a horse ranch at a young age. He grows up handling the horses and fist fighting for money. Seabiscuit is a bit small as racehorse standards go, but full of spirit and untapped potential. These two underdogs (Red is too tall for a jockey) become a team under the training of Tom Smith (Chris Cooper) and the ownership of Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges). All of these characters mourn some sort of loss in their lives and their concentration on training horse and rider become a focal point for them and eventually a way to heal. As cheesy as the basic plot outline sounds, Seabiscuit really pulls off an inspiring and absorbing story. It’s not one that has been overused and overproduced.

Plot: 3 stars

After about the first half hour or so, I stopped seeing Maguire as Peter Parker and started to realize him as Red Pollard. I really hope that when the Spiderman series is over, he can move on from the roll and not be forever typecast. Bridges is a seasoned actor and makes a convincing ex-automobile tycoon. Cooper’s character is suffering the loss of the open range and finds a place caring for the animals in the arena. He acts as a kind of sage in the story. However, it’s a role I frequently see him play and I wasn’t able to generate much sympathy for the character.

Acting: 3 ½ stars

Seabiscuit is surprisingly good on action. Although they lack the fiery explosions of car racing, the horse races get the adrenaline pumping and genuinely entice routing for the star players. There are a few fistfights, seeing as how Pollard’s beginnings, and one of his handicaps, evolve from that occupation. I didn’t feel that the story lagged too much in any one place, so the action was well paced throughout.

Action: 3 ½ stars

Visually, the set design and costuming are successful in creating a 1920’s atmosphere. Old cars are a significant part of the storyline and also add to the flavor of the times. However, during the racing scenes, it is a little bit too clear that Maguire isn’t really atop a horse. Although I understand the insurance risks of having a Hollywood actor actually race a horse, I have seen movies where the effect is achieved more seamlessly than it was here. The countryside where Seabiscuit was filmed is very appealing, but nothing about the cinematography says, “Wow!”

Visual: 3 stars

This movie was basically on par with what I expect from the genre as far as dialogue is concerned. I vaguely remember a line about not “throwing away a life”, but nothing so inspiring as to plant itself firmly in my memory.

Dialogue: 3 stars

Finally, Seabiscuit was far better than I expected. Enjoyment of the film is not contingent upon a love of horseracing, so let that not be cause for hesitation when considering it as a viewing option. Probably not something I would run out and purchase, but not a movie I regret spending my time on.

Alternate viewing choice: Million Dollar Baby
IMDB site
Official site
Rotten Tomatoes Review

***Note: If you found this review via IMDB, please let us know by leaving a comment. Thanks!***