Perched in front a
bathroom mirror pulling staples out of the side of a heavily bandaged head are
the first images we see of Broncho rider Brady Blackburn (Brady Jandreau) Brady is just recently home
from hospital after being stepped on by a bucking horse at a rodeo event. His world consists of his
mentally challenged sister Lilly (Lilly Jandreau) his dad (Tim Jandreau) the
trailer they live in and the horses on their South Dakota property that they
groom and train. His dad is prone to drinking and gambling leaving the family
short of cash especially since Brady can no longer complete plus the doctors
are even cautioning him from even training horses.
Director Chloe Zhao lets the South Dakota
vast landscape and space habitation play out like a leading character in this
film/documentary story of the challenges facing an injured cowboy in
recovery. A few of his
professional riding friends drop by taking him out into the desert for a night
of beers, shenanigans and riding stories. A telling comment is all the pride
they have remarking how keep going when even one of their smallest injuries
would put a millionaire NFL player into concussion protocol.
Back to reality Brady is forced to take a
job in a grocery store to bring in some money as his dad is forced to sell a
beloved horse to pay off the back rent on the family trailer. He’s recognized
by fans who pose for pictures egging him on to get back on a horse and into
competition. Brady’s happiest times occur when he visits his friend Lane (Lane
Scott) who’s in a rehabilitation hospital with severe injuries from a riding
accident that has put him in a wheelchair. They look at Lanes old rides, get
him up on a saddle and work the reigns together as if Lane is back up on a
horse.
Cinematographer Joshua James Richards
deserves special mention. His lighting, shading and framing choices show off
the South Dakota terrain. The fire flickering off the friends faces as they
surround a campfire in the desert as they switch off telling war stories to the
closing window of light between Brady and a colt as he tries to gain a stallion’s
trust to first be able to touch, place a saddle then mount.
The Rider is an intimate measured paced
story rooted in the true obstacles facing a bronco buster after a serious injury.
Brady identifies himself as the titular character but must face the fact that
he may not be able to do the one thing he loves ever again. Zhao dives into the
lifestyle the factors by which a cowboy determines their self-worth and into
the stark reality of what changes have to be made when the dream is over.
**** Out of 4.
The Rider |Chloe Zhao | U.S.A. | 2017 | 104
Minutes
Tags: Rodeo, Bronco Rider, Head Injury, Double Wide, Saddle, Chaps,
Horse Trainer, Spinal Injury, Rehabilitation Hospital, Seizures, Pine Ridge,
Dakotamart.
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