Review of The Rider (2018) by Bob K — 25 Dec 2018

One of he best of 2018 - we all know, or think we know, broken people. Few of us know people who are as literally broken as Brady, and several others in this movie. Getting stomped on by a horse or bull (like Brady's friend Lane Scott) has a way of changing your life in every dimension, if horses were such a huge part of your life. Brady puts himself at risk when he even rides, so the most beloved (and lucrative) activities in his life are off-limits, unless he takes foolish chances. He's a very wise young man, so we don't expect him to. So much is beautiful in this film - his friendships with Lane and his sister, how he works with horses, and the great emotional restraint that everyone has. There's no knock-down anger happening here, even when someone has hurt someone else, or acted foolishly. Emotional calm seems to be the code of this community, and Brady keeps an even keel throughout, with only a few breakthrough moments of anguish, which are heartbreaking.

One moment that touched me - Brady gets up very early, just before the dawn, to work with his new horse Apollo. "Labor of love" sounds too trite, but it definitely fits. I got up before dawn on Christmas to watch this, because that's what I do and love. This is definitely a movie that will leave you wishing you lived a less pretentious life.