It's smothered in good taste...

Rating: 5/10 (30 October 2005)

From Laura Hillenbrand's factual book about Seabiscuit the racehorse, a small and incorrigible animal in the 1940s overcoming all expectations once he hits the racetrack. Tobey Maguire is the horse's hot-tempered jockey, Jeff Bridges plays the rogue-ish owner, Chris Cooper is the wily trainer. The acting is above-average, the cinematography and technical aspects are very high, but this hackneyed script is a hurdle for all concerned. Director Gary Ross goes for a burnished, gleaming-copper look and feel, yet he can't seem to overcome the timeworn clichés, depressingly in place right from the start. Overlong film takes a good while to get cracking, and once it does it resorts to obvious (and annoying) plot devices. This seems much more "Hollywood" than any factual account, with smothering good taste but little personality. ** from ****