I, like many, have grown absolutely positively sick of the "inspirational" Disney true-story sports film machine. It can be traced back to the genuinely terrific Remember the Titans, and since then they’ve been pumped out as if the studio was a celluloid-producing Octomom. The results have been mixed (my personal favorite is Miracle) but the whole operation, to me, has become wearying. Warner Bros. even got a Best Picture nomination and a Best Actress Oscar by ripping off the formula with last year’s The Blind Side. Now, Disney gives us Secretariat, a movie I went into with my usual brand of cynicism.
Then when the movie started a funny thing happened. I smiled. Then the movie went on and I smiled some more, and by film’s end I was grinning with delight. Here is the very definition of the term “crowd-pleaser”, and somehow it is able to maintain suspense while telling a story that we all know the ending to. Against every odd known to man, Secretariat avoids what I call “The Valkyrie curse”, and makes a pretty terrific film doing it. Just as Secretariat the horse won over skeptics in his day, the film had the same effect on me, and I too was cheering. (On the inside).
Diane Lane plays Penny Chenery, a housewife who takes over Meadow Stables after her mother’s death. Her father is growing more and more ill with every day, and it falls on her to determine the ranch’s future, and thus the future of all prospective racehorses. Despite the pleas of her family to sell everything, cut and run, she is determined to keep the family business going. One of the mares gives birth to a horse, a birth depicted in the film as positively messianic. (Cue my initial eye-roll.) The infant horse stands on its legs almost immediately, and thus the legend of Secretariat begins.
The film dances on the edge of many clichés: Everything riding on a big race, a woman in a boy’s game, etc., but these characters are so incredibly relatable that you can’t help but be drawn into their plight. Secretariat the horse was never an underdog, favored in just about every race, but that doesn’t take away the absolute importance of every win or loss. Chenery has so much to lose by losing, and when the races start you are at the edge of your seat.
On that note, these horse races are wonderfully shot. Mud ends up on the face of the jockeys, you feel them struggling for position. Meanwhile, Chenery and co. sit in the stands, watching as the horse does all the work. I was absolutely fascinated, and it wasn’t until 2/3 of the way through that I actually realized how much I cared. That was the last thing I expected. Amongst a world of artificial sports movies this one felt positively real. Sure, it has a nice glimmer around the edges, but there’s a considerable amount of meat on the bone.
The supporting cast is impressive, particularly the usual brilliance of John Malkovich as Lucien Laurin. Not many of them get much screen time, as most of the focus is on Lane and her horse. The likes of James Cromwell, Senator Fred Thompson (as he should always be billed, but sadly not here), Dylan Walsh, Kevin Connolly, Scott Glenn and more all leave a considerable impact in their roles.
There are certainly moments of cheese here (birth scene, a few obvious moments) but this film has got it where it counts. It tells a great American story of triumph, and most importantly it doesn’t spoon feed the audience. Yes, you can predict just about every turn but I enjoyed the ride. Sadly, I think some people had their minds made up on Secretariat before they saw it, and I think they missed out on a great example on how to do this type of film right. Even I expected to be coddled through familiar waters, but boy was I surprised. When you get goose bumps watching an event you knew was coming, something has definitely been accomplished. The notes may be familiar, but it makes a pretty good song.
Rating:
(out of 4)

P.S.- I feel I need to at least address the review of Secretariat by Andrew O’Hehir of Salon, which has been much-discussed. While I think he was off-base, I actually understood some of the points he made, despite the fact that he doesn’t really review the movie but review an ideology that was the furthest thing from the film’s mind. That said, if I ever start a band, I am definitely naming it “Nietzschean Überhorse.”
No comments:
Post a Comment