I never planned on seeing "Seabiscuit." Why would I want to see a corny horse-race movie starring the boring, soulless, creepy-looking Tobey Maguire? I figured there was nothing in this movie of any remote interest to me, and so instead I purchased a ticket for the mindless "Tomb Raider 2: The Cradle of Life" (yes, I think Angelina Jolie is hot). Sadly, Ms. Jolie's attractiveness was unable to sustain an entire movie, and after about ten minutes of vapid action, I snuck out into the only other movie playing at the same time, which just so happened to be "Seabiscuit."
So I sat down for what I assumed would be a passable humdrum experience, but instead became drawn into the engrossing story of the film. The fact that "Seabiscuit" managed to keep my interest, whereas the explosion-filled "Tomb Raider" did not, is a testament to the film's strong, absorbing narrative.
Adapted from the bestselling book, the film is nominally about the phenomenal Seabiscuit, a thoroughbred racehorse who, despite his scrappy size and irritable, lazy temperament, managed to dazzle audiences by winning race after race in the 1930s. But the movie is actually the story of the three men who rebuild their lives around the racehorse: His jockey, his trainer and his owner.
The jockey, (a surprisingly non-bland Tobey Maguire) is Johnny "Red" Pollard, a young Irish-American kid whose life is torn apart by the ravaging effects of the Great Depression. The trainer is Tom Smith, an old, seemingly washed-up cowboy with a special affinity for seemingly washed-up horses, played adeptly by the talented Chris Cooper. And the owner is Charles Howard (the also-talented Jeff Bridges), a self-made millionaire entrepreneur who experiences a tragic loss near the beginning of the movie.
The film spends a good amount of time fleshing out the backgrounds and characters of these three men, with slow and deliberate pacing. This, in turn, emphasizes the fact that the story is really about the redemption of these characters against the backdrop of the aching misery of the Great Depression, and not the horse itself. Still, this is a horse-racing movie, and when the payoff comes with a big horse-race finale, the result is definitely satisfying.
The race in question was the 1938 Pimlico match race between Seabiscuit and the monstrous Triple Crown winner War Admiral, an event which was considered one of the greatest races of all time. This is definitely the climax of the film, and yet director Gary Ross makes the incredibly bold decision to continue the film for another hour after this event, transforming a simple feel-good movie into an almost bloated epic.
Unfortunately, the director could not resist the opportunity to include this extra final drama wherein both Seabiscuit and his jockey come back from injury to race again at the San Antonio Handicap in 1940. The inclusion of this additional story makes the movie far too long, marring an otherwise fine film.
Pacing problems do occur in other parts of the movie as well, with the director's infuriatingly bizarre habit of patiently building up to events such as boxing matches, car trips and races, and then glossing over the crucial climaxes of these events themselves with flashbacks or intrusive commentary by a narrator. The narrator's not-so-subtle message in the film is that Seabiscuit is the underdog, the little guy fighting for happiness as part of the whole FDR, New Deal battle against the Great Depression. Marveling at Seabiscuit's amazing accomplishments certainly served as a welcome distraction from the day-to-day misery of living during that time, and the extraordinary sense of watching a phenomenon is appropriately recreated for the movie-going audience.
"Seabiscuit" is definitely a pleasant, feel-good film, with great performances all around. Yes, this includes Toby Maguire, who also happens to look rather ghastly throughout the whole film, whether due to being bruised, beat up or starved-looking. There's also a funny cameo from William H. Macy as a radio announcer and a hilariously bizarre and eclectic soundtrack that includes furious fiddle and New Age compositions mixed in with generic orchestral feel-good movie music. The film's bloated length keeps it from greatness, but this is still a movie that anyone can enjoy.
*** (three stars)
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