One Film Hoping To Jockey Into Oscar’s Good Graces

As we head into the holiday movie season, thoughts of Oscar wins are already dancing in the heads of many a Hollywood honcho. This is the time of year when talk about Academy Award nominations begins to seep into every film review and every movie discussion. One of the few summer films seeming to get any consideration is Seabiscuit, which was recently named one of this year’s top ten films by The National Board of Review, the first critics group to announce its awards for 2003’s best achievements in film.

Having just completed a two-week run at Edmond Town Hall and out on video and DVD this week, Seabiscuit is a rousing, crowd-pleasing film that, in all honesty, will probably be forgotten come Oscar time, but if you haven’t seen it, don’t let it slip off your radar while you have one last chance to catch it on the big screen.

Based on the acclaimed, best-selling book by Laura Hillenbrand (which itself is based on a true story), Seabiscuit chronicles the journey of a smallish, knobby-kneed horse that captured the imaginations of a downtrodden country mired in the struggles of the Great Depression. The film does a wonderful job of placing us into that setting and giving us a sharp sense of the time and sensibility.

Jeff Bridges, in a performance reminiscent of his underrated turn as President Jackson Evans in The Contender, is immensely likable as former bicycle repairman turned ace automobile salesman Charles Howard, the entrepreneur who teams with fiery jockey Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire) and enigmatic trainer Tom Smith (Chris Cooper) to take a chance on this spirited horse, the ultimate epitome of the underdog.

Director and screenwriter Gary Ross, who previously teamed with Maguire on Pleasantville, seems to have the right touch for this kind of material. Although Seabiscuit marks only his second film as a director, Ross was the writer of such features as Big and Dave (along with the aforementioned Pleasantville), and one can see the hallmarks of an artist with a penchant for sentiment but also a deft sense for knowing when that sentiment threatens to stride into gooey, false sentimentality... and then subsequently avoid treading there.

Seabiscuit has its share of Rocky-like moments of the little guy triumphing over the lauded, expected conqueror (and this theme runs throughout the storylines of all the characters, not just the horse, as Howard and Pollard both must overcome pivotal moments in their lives to emerge stronger and more whole at the end), and it’s a testament to Ross’ skill and the aplomb of his terrific cast that the film is more prone to have you grabbing for your hanky than exhaling out of sheer disbelief and exasperation.

Seabiscuit is rated PG-13 for language, mild violence (sports-related images) and some sexual suggestiveness. It features narration by the acclaimed journalist David McCullough and a sprightly supporting turn by William H. Macy as a self-aggrandizing race announcer who jumps on the Seabiscuit bandwagon along with the rest of the country. This story of the steed that won the Horse of the Year honors in 1938, though not exactly a holiday tale, is likely to brighten your spirits nonetheless.