OPENS OCTOBER 24, CERT PG, 141 MINS Seabiscuit was the little horse that could?a pop culture phenomenon in Depression-era America who won the 1937 Santa Anita Handicap against all odds and beguiled an ailing nation. Written off in his early years as a grumpy, awkward loser, Seabiscuit was trained for victory by three broken men: too-tall jockey Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire), tragic millionaire Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges) and washed-up cowboy Tom Smith (Chris Cooper). Pleasantville director Gary Ross' self-penned script focuses on this maverick trio and how they came to find redemption through their unlikely partnership. OK, it's not just a horse flick?some of Seabiscuit's most resonant moments occur in the first half-hour as Ross details the rise of mass entertainment culture in '30s America. This may sound like a recipe for the worst kind of mawkish US myth-building but Ross avoids the pitfalls and, with the aid of a killer trio of lead performances, delivers the finest racetrack movie since Frank Capra's Broadway Bill.
OPENS OCTOBER 24, CERT PG, 141 MINS
Seabiscuit was the little horse that could?a pop culture phenomenon in Depression-era America who won the 1937 Santa Anita Handicap against all odds and beguiled an ailing nation.
Written off in his early years as a grumpy, awkward loser, Seabiscuit was trained for victory by three broken men: too-tall jockey Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire), tragic millionaire Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges) and washed-up cowboy Tom Smith (Chris Cooper). Pleasantville director Gary Ross’ self-penned script focuses on this maverick trio and how they came to find redemption through their unlikely partnership.
OK, it’s not just a horse flick?some of Seabiscuit’s most resonant moments occur in the first half-hour as Ross details the rise of mass entertainment culture in ’30s America. This may sound like a recipe for the worst kind of mawkish US myth-building but Ross avoids the pitfalls and, with the aid of a killer trio of lead performances, delivers the finest racetrack movie since Frank Capra’s Broadway Bill.
