Hey folks, Harry here... I came back from Prague one day too late to catch the press screening of SEABISCUIT, so I'll probably be seeing this tonight or tomorrow night with a friend. I have complete and total faith in Gary Ross. May this film make $700 million, so he can make WALLY & PEPPER!
Hey, Harry. Capone in Chicago here. I know that in my role as a leader in film geekdom, I'm not supposed to be susceptible to sentimental filmmaking. My thick skin that has endured countless gallons of blood and gore; numerous slashes with knives, axes, razor, etc.; and even FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY. So I know how to take a punch with the best of them. My heart is hard, my soul is nearly dead; I don't even think I cried when I first saw E.T. as a kid. So it always throws me when a movie that aims for the heart gets to me.
It’s clear almost from the first frames of this film that the makers of SEABISCUIT see the story of this down-on-its-luck, ready-to-be-put-down racehorse as the story of Depression-era America. There are actually several characters in SEABISCUIT who might represent our down-but-not-quite-out nation at its absolute low point. In fact, SEABISCUIT is maybe the most bold-faced act of cinematic patriotism I’ve seen in years, and I didn’t mind it a bit. Nor will you, since there’s basically no way I’m letting you alone until you’ve seen this transcendent piece of loveliness.
From the opening monologue by narrator and PBS’s “American Experience” host David McCullough, you know you’re in for a history lesson, three actually. After a quick course on the Ford Model T (it’s all relevant and necessary, trust me), we meet Charles Howard (played to perfection by Jeff Bridges), a bored assembly line worker and eventual failed mechanic, who finds his niche in selling cars. He’s a natural people person who makes a pretty penny off not so much selling cars, but selling the future to his customers. While Howard is peddling horseless carriages, Tom Smith (recent Oscar winner Chris Cooper) is making a name for himself as a horse trainer. He has a way with horses, especially wild ones that need calming. Smith isn’t much for socializing and chatter, but he’s respected by those around him. Scene shift to the Pollard household, where education is key and Papa Pollard insists that his young children not only read the classics but practically memorize them. The oldest child is the a boy who will eventually be nicknamed Red (because of his hair). He too has a way with horses, riding them is his specialty. When the Depression hits, all three California-based men are hit hard. Howard manages to keep his head about water, but Smith is forced to ride the rails and sleep under the sky. The Pollards essentially abandon their son with a horse trainer, thinking he’ll have a better life working with horses. When the boy grows up, he becomes a marginally successful jockey (played by Tobey Maguire).
When Howard decides to enter the world of professional horse racing, the lives of these three men converge around a mangy stallion named Seabiscuit, whose history is also explored. Trained to be a competitor to better, faster horses, this creature was effectively taught to lose every race. But Smith and Pollard craft him, step-by-step into a prize winner that eventually went on to take its place in not only sports history, but also American history, as the comeback kid of racehorses.
Based on the extremely popular book by Laura Hillenbrand, SEABISCUIT is a celebration of the little guy beating the odds. It seems like everywhere you turn in this film you’ll find someone overcoming something bigger than them. Pollard had to overcome being too physically large to be a jockey; he was also blind in his right eye, not a good thing if you’re trying to keep an eye on the rest of the field coming up behind you. Smith overcomes being a broke-ass bum. And Howard overcomes the death of his son and the subsequent break up of his first marriage, which didn’t seem all that difficult once he hooks up with Wife No. 2, Marcela, played by the lovely Elizabeth Banks (who played Betty Brant in Maguire’s SPIDER-MAN). Director and screenplay writer Gary Ross (who previously directed Maguire in PLEASANTVILLE) has crafted the kind of great film you don’t expect to see in the crop of summer releases. Films like this tend to come out after Thanksgiving. In other words, I hope Academy members have longer memories than usual this year.
As strong as Maguire and Cooper’s performances are, they tend to be fairly subtle and understated, especially put up alongside the film’s true star, Bridges, who plays this role like he’s retiring tomorrow. Granted that Howard is meant to be a showman and self-promoter, particularly in scenes where he campaigns for a match race between Seabiscuit and the national champ War Admiral, but Bridges is performing stronger than I’ve ever seen him. This is his best shot in his career at winning in Oscar. He’s that good. And speaking of great performances, I should also mention the comic styling of William H. Macy as the wacky sports radio announcer Tick Tock McGlaughlin, who acts as something of a second narrator, and a very funny one at that. You start to look forward to seeing the asides with him and his pile of sound effects.
SEABISCUIT is more than a film; it’s a chronicle, an epic, a slice of American history that few today know anything about. And I haven’t even gone into how incredible shot the horse racing sequences are. You feel like you’re right in the middle of the action, with jockeys yelling and hitting each other at times. Exhilarating doesn’t begin to describe it. SEABISCUIT might be the most perfect film I’ve seen all year. Don’t let Randy Newman’s sappy, yet highly appropriate, score scare you away. This movie will get you excited about life. You won’t be able to help yourself.
One more unrelated thing before I go, I managed to see TOMB RAIDER 2 (I refuse to call it by its way-too-long real name; or I'll call it what it should be called based on the poster -- LARA CROFT: THE OUTLINE OF VAGINA, or THE HINT OF NIPPLE). I've seen and read several interviews with Angelina Jolie where she describes Lara Croft as a great female role model. She's also said that this film is better because the script let Lara be more of a woman. And stupid me, I believed her. I have got to learn to ignore and distrust every word out of a celebrity's mouth. This movie is shit, pure and simple. The action is lame; Jolie's virtually expressionless portrayal of Croft will cure any insomniac; the effects are non-existent. There's a scene with a shark near the beginning of the film that is unbelievably fake looking. Bruce in FINDING NEMO looked more real and more threatening. There is truly nothing to like about this movie.
Capone
Write me if you wanna know about my horse of a different color!
