Beautiful and patient storytelling

Rating: 8/10 (17 August 2003)

This is a film that requires some patience while viewing but its well worth the time because when the final credits start to roll you fully appreciate the invested time it took to get to know each of the characters. This true story starts out with Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges) who first starts a bicycle shop and then goes into selling automobiles and becomes very rich. He's married and one day while out on business tragedy strikes when his only son dies in a traffic accident. His wife leaves him and now with the depression going on Charles must figure out what to do with his life. He decides to get involved in horseracing and looks for a trainer until he discovers a poor man named Tom Smith (Chris Cooper) who shows an unconventional knowledge of horses. Smith comes upon a horse that is both lazy and mean but likes his heart. He also needs a unique jockey that can ride him and this is where he meets Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire) who is a down in his luck stableboy with a temper. The three men form a bond and slowly get Seabiscuit trained to race. He starts winning all the West Coast races and now Charles wants to have a big race with the East Coast horse War Admiral. The owner Sam Riddle (Eddie Jones) at first says no but Charles keeps winning and the press and public force Riddle to agree to a race. About a week before the race Red breaks his leg and instead of cancelling he tells Charles and Tom to get George Woolf (Gary Stevens) who is a very good jockey. They of course win the big race which has the largest radio audience ever but the doctors tell Red he will never race again. Later, Seabiscuit hurts his leg and the vet says she will never race again either and that he should be put down. After time passes Red wants to race Seabiscuit again! Both have healed legs but how well healed? This film is directed by Gary Ross and its only his second job at directing a film. His first was "Pleasantville" which also starred Maguire. In both films Ross has shown a knack for heartwarming dramas without allowing the story to get to corny. The performances are top notch and everyone seems well cast especially Cooper. He's become one of the more effective character actors and he has the ability to transform himself to whatever character is needed. I wouldn't be surprised if he receives another Oscar nomination. Bridges again demonstrates the maturity needed for this film that has many quiet moments and he seems very comfortable during these scenes. Maguire who has worked with Ross before gives arguably the best performance of his career. He displays both the resentment of being left by his parents and the gratitude of becoming someone important with his gift of riding. All three actors play off each other well and its because this film clearly defines each character. This is a film that is very patient in the way it tells its story but it does a beautiful job of allowing the characters and situations to become understandable to the viewer. When the film finally ends you can't help but have a strong connection to it because you've invested so much time to get to know the characters. Not only is this good filmmaking but its good storytelling. A winning combo!