Something for everyone

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2003)

Hollywood makes movies for all sorts of reasons...their own pretentiousness, to make money, to win Oscars, etc. Why they made this movie I don't care...I went for it HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER.
Some directors make an ordinary scenery look good, some waste natural beauty, and others either are great directors or let our country's beauty speak for itself. Whether it was absolute direction and cinematography skill or not overstepping boundaries...I think our director Gary Ross has "the touch" in Pleasantville and Seabiscuit. The rugged mountains and beauty of the rolling plains are awe-inspiring, either direction or lack of over-directing are gifts I won't bother labeling Mr. Ross with.
This is the best ensemble cast I can remember in a long time, understated roles and excellent portrayals. I can't label any LEADING ACTOR roles, honestly. Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper both deserve Best Supporting Actor nods in my opinion. Neither role was as dynamic as usually necessary to win, but you can't help but believe THEY ARE THE CHARACTER. William Macy gets a lot of laughs and some critical acclaim for his radio broadcaster role, and I really like the guy. The other two males are better.

Please don't ignore Randy Newman's beautiful score either.
Tobey Maguire is good playing a fairly dark character that fights his way out of a bad situation time and time again, literally and figuratively.
I promise that you will laugh, you will cry, you will clap, you will sigh, you will do everything that excellent cinema demands of you or you need to drive straight to the emergency room and have your pulse checked.

I think a lot has already been made of the Depression era and the symbolism of the rise of America parallel to the characters in the movie, so I won't bore anyone with retelling the story. I can't help but like a story of America overcoming obstacles. SORRY! I'm a proud American.
This movie, quite frankly, has SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. I was in a packed theater and saw as big a variety of our population as you could get, all thoroughly entertained by a movie that succeeds even more than I anticipated going in. I'll admit it...I thought it would be GREAT before I saw it. I underestimated it in a large way.