Seabiscuit is an old fashioned feel good film with Rockyesque aspirations of an underdog in a depression era USA which brings hope to a nation.
Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges) is a wealthy car dealer (shades of Tucker about Bridges role) who has suffered losses when the depression struck. Tom Smith (Chris Cooper) is a veteran trainer who fixes injured horses and Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire) a Canadian jockey blinded in one eye and has a short fuse.
Then there is Seabiscuit a mistreated and temperamental colt. Red and Seabiscuit who are both volatile become close and the horse racks up some impressive victories in the west coast and captures the public's imagination but there are more obstacles to overcome.
Director Gary Ross gives the film plenty of heart and sentimentality and just about gets away with it because the cast invest so much in the story despite some well worn clichés but uplifts you as the viewer.
Seabiscuit
2003
Action / Drama / History / Sport
Seabiscuit
2003
Action / Drama / History / Sport
78% - Critics
76% - Audience
7.3Keywords: based on novel or bookbased on true storybased on a true story1930shorse
Plot summary
It's the Depression, and everyone needs to hold onto a dream to get them through the bad times. Car maker Charles Howard is no different, he who is trying to rebuild his life after the tragic death of his only child and the resulting end of his first marriage. With second wife Marcela at his side, Charles wants to get into horse racing and ends up with a team of underdogs who are also chasing their own dream. The first is trainer Tom Smith, who has a natural instinct to spot the capabilities of horses. The second is the horse Tom chooses for Charles, Seabiscuit, an unconventional choice as despite his pedigreed lineage, Seabiscuit is small at fifteen and a half hands tall with a slight limp. But Tom can see something in Seabiscuit's nature to make him a winner, if only Seabiscuit can be retrained from his inbred losing ways. And third is the jockey they decide to hire, Johnny "Red" Pollard, so nicknamed because of his hair color. Like Tom, Red has always shown a natural way with horses, but a difficult upbringing due solely to the Depression has made Red an angry young man, which has gotten him into trouble both on and off the track. And he is large for a jockey, and thus he always feels the need to battle the weight issue. Another common trait between Tom, Seabiscuit and Red is that they have been called crazy by those in traditional horse racing circles. Against the odds, Seabiscuit, with his human team behind him, does show his winning abilities and captures the imagination of all those others wanting to believe in a dream. But Seabiscuit's victories are at smaller races. As such, Charles aims high and wants Seabiscuit to race Triple Crown winner War Admiral, who by all accounts is a winner and should be a winner. If given the chance to race against War Admiral (whose owner doesn't want to race as he feels he has nothing to prove),will Seabiscuit and his team continue to keep the dreams of the common Americans alive? Through the good and the bad, especially as Red and Seabiscuit face mirroring problems, they all have to decide what is in their collective best interest.
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A pedigree gallop
Absorbing and nostalgic family drama
The beginning is slow I agree, and some of the parallels between injured Maguire and Seabiscuit are a tad overplayed more to do with the direction than how it is performed or shot, but Seabiscuit is an absorbing, sentimental and nostalgic family drama. It is beautifully filmed, has a lovely, heart-warming story with a strong emotional core, is decently scripted and is well paced in general. Seabiscuit also has a very good soundtrack and the race sequences are gripping. Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper and Tobey Maguire give superb performances, as does William H.Macy as a pessimist who also actually brings some much-needed humour to the film. Overall, not perfect but worthwhile film. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Sincere old fashion story
In 1910, Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges) working on an assembly line decides to start his own bicycle shop. Eventually he becomes great selling cars and a great automobile enthusiast. He becomes wealthy and purchases a horse ranch. Then the Great Depression happens. His son is killed in a car accident and his wife leaves. He later remarries Marcela (Elizabeth Banks).
Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire/Michael Angarano) from a loving family is left behind to ride race horses as a child when his family couldn't hold together. He has to struggle to get through the cold world. Charles Howard decides to get into horse racing. He hires world weary trainer Tom Smith (Chris Cooper). Tom sees a small horse named Seabiscuit who has something in him. People have deemed him too small, too lazy, and left him to the trash heaps. In many ways, Red has also been left to the trash heaps and is angry for it.
It's an epic in its own way. It is old fashion but in a good way. It's uplifting. The sense of lost from the main characters are all well done. The acting is all great. Tobey Maguire is able to give voice to the pain that both he and the horse have felt over their lives. The story is so sincere that one must accept it or else. It's an underdog movie with feelings.