Review of The Rider (2018) by Dawdlingpoet — 20 Nov 2021

I really enjoyed this film. I liked the sound of the hooves on the ground - the rustling of the grass and the crickets, plus, of course, the ocassional great landscape panoramic type shots, including some pretty sunsets. I imagine it looked really quite impressive on the big screen - its certainly atmospheric in any case.

Its one of those films in which at times the lack of dialogue makes it stand out - in which its whats not said that perhaps means, or counts, more than what is. In that sense its about isolation and I appreciated that aspect of it.

I thought Brady Jandreau did good portraying the main character, Brady Blackburn - he's quite facially expressive and its relatively easy to tell, or guess, what he may be thinking at any time. Also his pure love of rodeo, of being a cowboy etc. comes across quite genuinely. His sister, Lilly, is quite clearly developmentally challenged (if thats an acceptable phrase to use these days?) and I thought it was quite touching how he interacts with her. The film is based on a true story, that of the actor Brady Jandreau, which gives it even more meaning and substance, I feel. There's a Q&A on the Blu-Ray of this film, in which the actor talks about his experience.

There is a lot of love and compassion as well as determinism expressed, visually if not verbally. Its also about identity including masculinity. It captures exhilaration quite well, I felt, with a good use of music - a moody instrumental piece played at the end. I very much enjoyed this film and so I would definitely recommend it.