Review of Secretariat (2010) by Paul B — 25 Jul 2011

A housewife balances her family life with her commitment to a horse she believes can win the Triple Crown.

This is a Disney film through and through. Nobody curses, unless you consider "butt" and "shucks" curse words. Everybody smiles a lot. The horse is anthropomorphized. But more damning to the film is few social taboos are challenged. Yes, the theme of a "woman's place" is discussed in the film but not with any serious conviction. There's even this saccharine line in reference to one character's war protests: "Our political convictions may change, but our belief in ourselves won't" (quoted from memory, not verbatim). Talk about avoiding controversy! What upsets me most about Disney, as a company and as a marketeer of culture, is the fact that it makes films that are for "everyone," but they end up being for no one in particular.

I also wondered about why all of Eddie's "cheering shots" only included him. Is he in the "black section" of the racetrack? Is he in the "person who leads the horse to the starting gate" section? This open question means that film has also deliberately ignored the racial realities of the time, too.

Diane Lane is sweet and beautiful. The horse looks like a pretty horse. John Malkovich is occasionally funny.

Overall, the film is well-made, but it's only for those who aren't annoyed by white-washed reality.