October 12, 2010
You may know how the story is going to end but Secretariat is still a movie worth seeing. This is a fact based, family friendly film that follows the making of a champion.
America is entering the ‘60’s. Free love, war protests, hippies and challenging the establishment become part of the social norm. If ever there was a time to do the unexpected, it was then.
Penny Chenery Tweedy (played by Diane Lane) is wife to a lawyer and mother of four living a good life in Denver. She returns to Virginia to care for her ailing father and the nearly bankrupt horse farm. Because she cannot bear to lose it, she fires the unscrupulous trainer and takes over the farm alone.
Honoring a deal her father made she wins Secretariat in a coin toss. Secretariat surpasses everyone’s expectations because of her obstinacy, love and belief. In 1973, Secretariat was the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in twenty-five years. He won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths, a record that remains unbroken.
The cast is excellent. Diane Lane plays Penny with an understated authority. John Malkovich as trainer Lucien Laurin can steal a scene with just a look. Yes, the dialogue is predictable and Diane Lane has her “horse whisperer moment” moment but the real stars are the camera and soundtrack.
You watch Secretariat go through the tunnel onto the racetrack much like a boxer heading for the ring. Then the camera shows Secretariats point of view. He is listening to the crowd cheering while watching his opponents flex their muscles. Secretariat can hardly contain himself in the gate. The bell sounds, the gates spring open and you see what the jockey sees. Track dirt kicked in your face, hear the stampede of hooves and understand the very real possibility you can fall to your death. The camera makes you live through the longest minutes of your life while you listen to the heavy breathing of a half-ton animal bred to run as fast as it can. In the Belmont Stakes Secretariat ran the fastest ½ mile ever recorded in America.
Secretariat’s story is in part a small snapshot of American history. We are reminded of a not too long ago time when a woman’s accomplishments were measured by the success of her husband and her homemaking abilities. Challenging the status quo, not compromising your beliefs and living your convictions as Penny Chenery Tweedy did remind us of the principal that makes America unique.http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978595084
America is entering the ‘60’s. Free love, war protests, hippies and challenging the establishment become part of the social norm. If ever there was a time to do the unexpected, it was then.
Penny Chenery Tweedy (played by Diane Lane) is wife to a lawyer and mother of four living a good life in Denver. She returns to Virginia to care for her ailing father and the nearly bankrupt horse farm. Because she cannot bear to lose it, she fires the unscrupulous trainer and takes over the farm alone.
Honoring a deal her father made she wins Secretariat in a coin toss. Secretariat surpasses everyone’s expectations because of her obstinacy, love and belief. In 1973, Secretariat was the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in twenty-five years. He won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths, a record that remains unbroken.
The cast is excellent. Diane Lane plays Penny with an understated authority. John Malkovich as trainer Lucien Laurin can steal a scene with just a look. Yes, the dialogue is predictable and Diane Lane has her “horse whisperer moment” moment but the real stars are the camera and soundtrack.
You watch Secretariat go through the tunnel onto the racetrack much like a boxer heading for the ring. Then the camera shows Secretariats point of view. He is listening to the crowd cheering while watching his opponents flex their muscles. Secretariat can hardly contain himself in the gate. The bell sounds, the gates spring open and you see what the jockey sees. Track dirt kicked in your face, hear the stampede of hooves and understand the very real possibility you can fall to your death. The camera makes you live through the longest minutes of your life while you listen to the heavy breathing of a half-ton animal bred to run as fast as it can. In the Belmont Stakes Secretariat ran the fastest ½ mile ever recorded in America.
Secretariat’s story is in part a small snapshot of American history. We are reminded of a not too long ago time when a woman’s accomplishments were measured by the success of her husband and her homemaking abilities. Challenging the status quo, not compromising your beliefs and living your convictions as Penny Chenery Tweedy did remind us of the principal that makes America unique.http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978595084
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