94 - The Rider

Eavesdropping at the Movies

A contemporary Western played by non-professional actors and based closely on their real lives, The Rider is both heartfelt and riddled with cliché. Brady is one of a group of young men in the American Midwest who ride bucking horses and bulls, risking severe injury and death, in what can be seen at once as both a vital act of keeping tradition alive and a tacit admission that the opportunities offered by America are dwindling and serve to keep people in their place. Mike also describes it as "a stupid sport". José sees a kinship with American Animals in its portrayal of young American men with no sex lives or apparent interest in sex lives; Mike believes it's a film that will flatter those who like to pride themselves on seeing "quality" cinema. There are scenes of beauty, including those with a former rider profoundly injured and restricted to life in an assisted living facility - Brady's love for his friend, expressed throughout the film, is touching. And the horse wrangling is simply spectacular and worth it for its own sake. A film with deep flaws, an indulgence in cliché, visual unoriginality, and too rosy a view on its subject matter, but nonetheless with flashes of beauty. Recorded on 17th September 2018.