Hidalgo (2004)
Spoiler alert.
Mainly, it's a lot of a guy on a
horse in the sand.
That is the most prominent image
you will recall after watching "Hidalgo." And while
the film can be fairly boring and generally predictable
at times, it still passes as entertainment for much
of its run time. Every tired cliche one can imagine
appears in the film yet somehow we stay mildly interested.
Part of the film's appeal is surely
Viggo Mortensen who takes a rather typical and lackluster
character and makes him seem interesting. Mortensen
has good chemistry with nearly everyone in the film.
And since he is in every scene, this can only be a
good thing. Mortensen especially has chemistry with
his horse, who plays the titular "Hidalgo." This is
very important. For what it's worth, the horse has
the funniest gags in the film. I've never seen a horse
roll its eyes in a humorous way before, but this one
does so easily (unless it is a CGI effect).
Mortensen also does well with his
female counterparts and his most well-known co-star,
Omar Sharif. It's good to see the older actor back
on screen and he makes what could be a rather drab
and villainous caricature seem intelligent, witty
and interesting. The two together, Mortensen and Sharif,
make most of what "Hidalgo" has to offer. It's nice
to see a legend like Sharif to have a meaty role in
a big Hollywood film too.
There's a lot of mumbo-jumbo in
"Hidalgo" as well. Purportedly based on a true person,
Mortensen's character here has a past he is trying
to escape. Let's just say it is relevant that he rides
a horse that is not a thoroughbred in a race designed
for pure breeds. The film's most poignant and riveting
moments are etched out of this ideal. There's also
Mortensen's love interest, Sharif's character's daughter,
who wears a veil through most of the film but, at
the plot winds down, meets him just out side the city
and has her face uncovered. Talk about a cultural
taboo. No wonder there were a few Arabs who protested
the film.
There's also a flittering of an
idea that the film is dealing with the end of an era.
Mortensen rides in a Wild West show and there is some
discussion about how he is "the last real cowboy,"
but this is almost sub-subtext, or to be more succinct:
Almost glossed over. Like "Seabiscuit," the film is
referencing the end of an era but unlike that early
film, it doesn't know how to do it properly.
Another problem: The film has no
shame about using well-worn ideas. The worst scene
in the film, its near climax, features Mortensen in
the dessert, delirious from the heat and lack of water,
hallucinating and about to kill his horse and himself.
We've seen this scene far too many times in films.
It's no big surprise when his hallucination is that
magical moment when he finally accepts himself and
his ancestry, the pivotal moment in his character's
arc.
It's also no surprise that through
the ridiculous dialogue of a man who rides suddenly
into frame, Mortensen discards his suicide plans and
is suddenly revived and refreshed when he discovers
that water is just around the corner.
Note:
Also starring J.K. Simmons from
"Spiderman," Elizabeth Berridge, who played the female
cop on "The John Larroquette Show," and that kid that
plays The Sherminator in the American Pie movies.
Directed by Joe Johnston. With a
score that tries a little to hard by James Newton
Howard.
Although based on true events per
se, Frank Hopkins was more of a folk hero of penny
novels and never raced overseas except perhaps in
a Wild west Show.
Buffalo Bill Cody and Annie Oakley
are portrayed as characters.
Although the film only lists two
California sites as filming locations, it was filmed
several places in the U.S. and in Morocco.
Viewed in Austin in March 2004.
