A movie that sticks with you

Rating: Null/10 (9 August 2003)

An unusual film in that it features five performers in equal leading roles: The owner, the trainer, the jockey, the horse, and the times. I would give first billing to the 1930s, as it took me three days to get my mind out of the scenario. Among the human actors I thought Jeff Bridges gave the strongest performance. The best actor in the movie was Gary Stevens, the professional jockey who had never acted before. Elizabeth Banks reminds me of Brooke Adams. This is not a good omen for Banks, since Adams's career has gone essentially nowhere in the past 30 years.
The only problem I had with the movie was with Pollard's accident before the big race. The scene gave me the impression that the incident could have been a deliberate act of sabotage by the rival owner, and it left me hanging. This may not have been the fault of the writers. The accident actually happened in real life, and it was too important to the plot to gloss over.
I had never planned to see "Seabiscuit." I would not have gone had my daughter not invited me. But I may go back to see it again.