Seabiscuit Review
by David N. Butterworth (dnb AT dca DOT net)August 5th, 2003
SEABISCUIT
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2003 David N. Butterworth
*** (out of ****)
Beneath the glossy, calculated, and overlong veneer of Gary Ross's affecting
"Seabiscuit" there beats a heart of pure gold. This true-life drama, about a little Depression-era racehorse that could (and stirred the heart of a nation
into the process), succeeds because it goes for the gut. In that regard you tend to overlook its shortcomings, which include weak narration, an overly clean
and clinical approach (everything gleams like recently polished horse leather),
and too much time spent dramatizing the setup that finally brings three once broken men--Seabiscuit's owner (Jeff Bridges), trainer (Chris Cooper), and rider
(Tobey Maguire)--together (they're all very good, by the way). Following the untimely and tragic death of his young son and subsequent exodus of his wife, automobile magnate Charles Howard (Bridges) closes the hangars on his fleet of Buick roadsters for the last time. It's not until a new love (starting with
Elizabeth Banks's Marcela) enters Howard's life that the barn doors finally reopen. Now the buildings no longer house cars, but horses, and one young horse
in particular, a feisty young thoroughbred barely 15 hands high named Seabiscuit.
Hooking up with legendary mustang breaker/horse whisperer Tom Smith (Cooper) and former boxer turned jockey Red Pollard (Maguire), Howard uses the salesmanship
that proved him a self-made millionaire to sell the American, cheap
seat-filling
public on this diminutive underdog, culminating in the infamous match race against
the undefeated--and significantly larger--War Admiral. William H. Macy has a colorful role as sports commentator Tick Tock McGlaughlin while an excellent Gary Stevens (with piercing Henry Fonda good looks in his close-ups; he plays the Biscuit's "passenger" George Woolf in the final furlong) is more subdued. Adapted from Laura Hillenbrand's beloved novel by director Gary Ross ("Pleasantville"),
"Seabiscuit"--as attested to by the applause in the auditorium during the thrilling
race sequences and the lump in the throat of this humbled critic every time a horse takes center stage--is a true crowd pleaser.
--
David N. Butterworth
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
