Seabiscuit

Seabiscuit tells the true story of the undersized racehorse who became a symbol of hope during the Great Depression — and the three broken men who found redemption through him. Gary Ross adapts Laura Hillenbrand's bestselling book with a sweeping, old-Hollywood elegance, crafting a Depression-era epic that draws explicit parallels between a discarded horse and a nation that felt discarded by its own economy.

Tobey Maguire plays jockey Red Pollard, a half-blind, injury-prone rider whose determination mirrors the horse he rides. Jeff Bridges brings quiet authority to Charles Howard, the self-made millionaire who bought Seabiscuit on instinct. Chris Cooper is magnetic as trainer Tom Smith, a taciturn horseman who sees the champion inside the temperamental animal. All three men are damaged. All three find healing through the horse.

The racing sequences are spectacular — Ross uses a combination of real horses and seamless effects to create thundering, visceral races that put the audience in the saddle. The match race against War Admiral — the favored Triple Crown winner — is staged as a David vs. Goliath showdown that had real Depression-era Americans glued to their radios. Seabiscuit argues that greatness is not about pedigree. It is about heart.