Review of The Mustang (2019) by Netflic — 25 Mar 2019

Several states in our country have convict rehabilitation programs that involve animals.

This movie is about one of such programs where inmates tame wild horses that later are being sold on auctions.

The protagonist Roman is a buffed-up guy who has problems dealing with people. In a way he is as wild as the horse that the program management paired him with. Neither of them are free while being free-spirited; both of them have temper problem. Each one of them is a “mustang”. But who is taming who?

Roman is played by Matthias Schoenaerts, the actor who I really like. He does not have much to say in this role but his acting is still magnificent. Many other inmates are not by actors but prisoners who play themselves. Needless to say, the movie feels quite authentic.

The film is slow and atmospheric, even though as most prison movies do, it has an ample dose of violence. I did like the movie, mostly because of my favorite actor’s performance. Your mileage might vary.