One of my favourite reviewers is James Berardinelli, and in one paragraph on his website, he refers to Seabiscuit as "Rocky in a saddle." It's the best description of this underdog movie with a heart of gold. Like Rocky, Seabiscuit shifts its focus away from a professional sport and makes the trials of its characters become more important to us. While it isn't quite as emotionally overpowering as the Stallone classic, it has its moments all the same.
For those such as myself, who are unacquainted with the historical events of the infamous racing horse, the film begins with black and white newsreel footage from the 20's and 30's to set the stage. America is on the verge of its Depression, and only a handful of businessmen are able to get by. Among these is Charles Howard, an impulsive but straight-shooting entrepreneur who has recently lost his son in a car accident. Played by Jeff Bridges with a brooding demeanour, Howard recruits a horse wrangler named Tom Smith (Chris Cooper) in order to get his feet wet in the world of horse racing. Together, they come across the stubborn Seabiscuit and a down-on-his-luck jockey named Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire). It is only at the convergence of these individuals that the wheels are set into motion, and the more well-known aspects of the story begin.
Seabiscuit sets the racing world afire, winning many circuits and taking on some of the biggest competitors around, including the ominously titled War Admiral. After unexpected setback and accidents, jockey and horse are separated and a new rider is forced to step in (this is after we discover that Red is blind in one eye and Seabiscuit will "never race again"). The nation rallies behind the underdogs and Tom, Red and Charles all come to personal victory and redemption, and we are not terribly surprised.
Most of the scenes in Seabiscuit work because there is no rushing around to try to squeeze in as much racing as possible. On the contrary, although the portions set at the track are well filmed, in a way they hinder the crux of the main story itself and the human drama of the protagonists. However, they are partially redeemed by the zealous performance by William H. Macy as the comical Tick Tock McGlaughlin, a sound effects-based radio commentator who falls under Seabiscuit's spell.
Gary Ross is the director, and what surprised me the most was the uneven editing of the film. Seabiscuit sputters in places when it should be gaining ground. There are a lot of missed opportunities here and it almost feels like Ross initially had a tight motion picture, then opted to expand it by adding more scenes in order to make it seem more like some kind of epic. Less would have been more, particularly in the relentless build-up towards the match-up between Seabiscuit and War Admiral.
The best performance in the film is by Chris Cooper, who makes Tom Smith into a wise authority on horses without the resources of pages of dialogue to justify it. As Red, Maguire is intense but seems miscast compared to some of his previous roles, where he worked harder to round out his characters. Bridges has many of the film's corny lines, but does well in delivering them to the extent that we believe he means what he's saying. Elizabeth Banks passively plays Charles's wife because a female character is perfunctory.
Seabiscuit didn't impress me as much as I'd hoped it would. I watched it at a time when I was hoping to feel my spirits rise, and it never really accomplished that. Nevertheless, it is a well-crafted movie with just enough professionalism to get it to the finish line. For what it is, it works. In the meantime though, I'm sure I could think of another dozen or more inspirational flicks that I could wholeheartedly, strongly recommend for being more ambitious, more involving, and more moving than this one.
