So, you think you won't be crying like a baby just because you know how Secretariat ends? Try again, tough guy. This movie isn't about who is standing in the winner's circle. It's about how they got there.
Set in 1973, Diane Lane stars as Peggy Chenery - a devoted wife and mother whose family horse farm is facing tremendous difficulties. Her mother has passed, and her father (Scott Glenn) is ailing. Yet, Penny doesn't want to give up, and she thinks the farm might have a very special horse on its hands.
Risking everything, Penny teams up with trainer Lucian Laurin (John Malkovich), keeper Eddie Sweat (Nelsan Ellis) and the organization's long time administrator Miss Ham (Margo Martindale) to do whatever it takes to get Secretariat ready for the Triple Crown races.
Winning saves the farm.
Losing means that part of the family's history will be gone in the blink of an eye.
(See my interview with Director Randall Wallace on DC50tv)
Director Randall Wallace and writer Mike Rich (based on the book by William Nack) do a wonderful job avoiding the big pitfalls you might be worried about in this movie. Sure, Secretariat is a "Disney" movie with all of the positive and negative connotations that term instills in viewers, and it is designed to be the feel good hit of the season, but Wallace mostly saves Secretariat from becoming overly sugary sweet and obvious.
Don't get me wrong. We don't have some hard hitting expose about the dirty underbelly of horse racing (that's more Martin Scorsese's style), but Wallace and Rich set a realistic tone with ups and downs, as well as honest portrayals of the characters, as they tell us the story we don't know.
Diane Lane is ferocious as the woman who has to step in and take over her family's horse farm after tragedy, and becomes Secretariat's biggest believer and supporter in the bleakest of hours. We get to see the struggles she faces as a mother, a woman trying to succeed in a male dominated world, the pressure on her to just let the farm slip away and more.
John Malkovich might have you thinking his character is nothing more than comic relief, but as you watch him throughout Secretariat he brings out the Lucian's heart and soul in moments that make him more and more human. It is a tempered performance where Malkovich peels away layer after layer of silliness to reveal someone much more substantial and captivating as each scene passes by.
Most of all Wallace makes you feel like you are running along side Secretariat as he makes those turns at The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. The audience is so close to the action, I felt like I had to wipe the mud of my face! Being in the middle of everything makes it all the more exciting, even if you know how the races end.
Sure, Secretariat has some moments that seem unbelievable and some obvious metaphors that press on you just a bit, but this is a movie you want to see, and then see again with the entire family.
3 ½ Waffles (Out of 4)
Secretariat is rated PG for brief mild language
