Seabiscuit

Just wanna do a real quick recommend here.  But first I feel like I should give some background.  One of my guilty pleasures is horse racing.  Like boxing I know it’s kinda fucked up and probably shouldn’t exist anymore because of the horror stories you hear about how the animals are treated sometimes.  But goddamn is it captivating.  To be clear it’s not the gambling aspect (although that does enhance the experience) but the amazing ability of these creatures to fly around a dirt path at 40 mph.  My usual once a year trip to the track got thwarted by, well you know, so this film will have to do.  But it more than satiates that itch.  This is a fucking winner.

Seabiscuit tells the true story of not only the emblematic horse but also his owner, trainer and jockey.  They all came from completely different worlds and were at unhappy times in their lives when a horse brought them together.  Owner Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges (Cutter's Way)) recently lost his young son and that leads to him and his wife splitting up.  Trainer Tom Smith (Chris Cooper (Money Train)) is a horse whisperer and drifter who happens to notice Seabiscuit’s potential and successfully whips him into shape.  Jockey John “Red” Pollard (Tobey Maguire (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)) was essentially abandoned by his parents when he was a teen forcing him to fend for himself and fell into horse racing.  He’s also blind in one eye, large for a jockey and has a massive chip on his shoulder for the raw deal life handed him.  And even though Seabiscuit was bred to be a competitive pony he showed little promise early on and was more or less given up on.

Everything from the spectacular cinematography to the heartfelt acting to the wonderful production design to the inspiring story, it’s one helluva ride.  I can’t stress enough how beautiful the relationships are and how exciting the races are captured.  Sure the closeup shots of Maguire speeding along the track with a bobbing piece of fur in front of him aren’t the most convincing but that’s a minor gripe when the film nails every other facet.

And Seabiscuit is an actual character here.  He isn’t a background object or prop being used to help tell other people’s narratives.  On the opposite end the filmmakers smartly didn’t anthropomorphize him too much either.  He’s got personality but they don’t fuckin’ pretend he can understand what the hell humans are saying.  And I dig that he’s not a cutesy wuvable whittle horse.  He’s legitimately cool with a what-tha-fuck-are-you-lookin’-at-motherfucker attitude paralleling Red Pollard’s.

I’m pretty sure this is the only exclusively horse racing movie I’ve seen (Beverly Hills Cop 2, Tin Men, The Killing all have scenes at a track).  There are a surprising number that have been made over the years considering it’s such a niche activity (including The Story of Seabiscuit from 1949 starring Shirley Temple).  It’s hard to imagine one being better than this though.  It’s got everything you could ask for.  I gotta believe it ranks up there in oddball sports films as well.  There’s The Hustler/The Color of Money (pool), Cool Runnings (bobsled racing), Rounders (poker), Chariots of Fire (running) and the wackiest of them all Over the Top (arm wrestling).  Some are entertainingly bad but this one’s the real deal.

So do yourself a favor and check this guy out.  If horse racing isn’t your thing that’s fine because it’s about the characters.  They found themselves in a magical moment where their combined fortitude was the perfect recipe for astonishing success.  When times were real tough (the great depression) they got through it by mending each other’s spirits on and off the track.