Seabiscuit

Hope for the broken via a quirky, forsaken race horse

During the Depression, an undersized, lazy horse named Seabiscuit becomes a champion, lifting the spirits of both its team and that of the nation. Jeff Bridges plays the owner, Tobey Maguire the jockey and Chris Cooper the trainer. Valerie Mahaffey is on hand as the owners wife.

Based on the real story, Seabiscuit (2003) is reminiscent in tone of another timeless historical drama starring Bridges, Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) by Francis Ford Coppola. I prefer the underrated Tucker because its snappier and less vague, but Seabiscuit aint no slouch.

Like the historically-based Jeremiah Johnson (1972) the manner of storytelling respects the intelligence of the viewer...

It wears its sentimental heart firmly on its fetlock.

As the depression era kicks in, Americans were grasping for any sort of inspiration they could get, enter equine supreme, Seabiscuit. Considered broken down, too small and untrainable, Seabiscuit went on to become a bastion of great racehorses and in the process bringing solace to those closest to it.

Back in 2003 upon its initial release, critics were very divided as to the merits of Seabiscuit as a picture. Some were concerned that this adaptation from Laura Hillenbrand's highly thought of novel missed too many crucial elements, others were merely touting the tired old charge of the film purely baiting Oscar (something that is levelled at every film in history about hope and se...