Seabiscuit: a depression-era inspiration

In a sense, Seabiscuit may be just another movie about a long-shot character overcoming insurmountable odds and warming our hearts.

What makes the story endearing is the masterfully crafted combination of real-life storytelling and filmmaking. Based on a true story, Seabiscuit acts as a metaphor of its day. America was recovering from a devastating depression, and being the underdog was not unfamiliar to anyone.

In the context of the Great Depression, in a nation rampant with shattered dreams, four lost characters converge as an unlikely tale of heroism unfolds. A wealthy entrepreneur, a misunderstood trainer, an oversized jockey and a small, crooked horse combine to create more dynamics than 141 minutes can portray on screen.

Based on the best-selling novel by Laura Hillenbrand, the story has been skillfully adapted into a screenplay; however, much of the true history is omitted. The story starts out with Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges), a shrewd businessman who finds himself escaping across the border to the racetracks in Tiajuana, Mexico, after the tragic death of his son. With the persuasion of his competent trainer, the forlorn Tom Smith (Chris Cooper), Howard is drawn to purchase the lazy, mean, but nevertheless intriguing horse known as "Seabiscuit."

Distraught by a failing marriage, Howard meets Marcela (Elizabeth Banks), a woman half his age whose vitality and love for the races inspires Howard to select the most suitable of jockeys for the horse. This jockey, Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire), a native Canadian, shares the plight of many adolescent Depression-era boys who forfeited their childhoods in order to make money. The book gives an unprecedented view into the grueling life of a horse jockey, which the movie only touches on.

Viewers will be inspired by the indomitable spirit of Red despite troubles and injuries along the way. Second time director Gary Ross (Pleasantville) does an impeccable job of recreating the atmosphere of the horse race in all of its ebb and flow.

Viewers with short attention spans should be aware that the true appreciation for Seabiscuit comes with a fair amount of devotion to character development. The complexity of this true story warrants a significant amount of background knowledge. As the setting moves through different parts of America and beyond, occasional subtitles denote new geographical locations. This film is not a depression documentary, as it may initially appear, but a sports biography.

This film is rated PG-13 for some sexual situations and violent sports-related images. I found the few questionable pieces of the film to be necessary to the storyline and well-supported by facts documented in the book. Although Seabiscuit targets a wide range of viewers, it has a sentimental appeal for older audience members.