The picture is set in the late
1800's and Hidalgo is the name of Frank Hopkins'
mustang horse. Frank's a half-breed long distance
horse racer who witnesses the atrocities at Wounded
Knee, then becomes a drunk in a Wild West show. A
far-out challenge from a far out land, gives Frank
the chance to win a big purse as well as some
self-respect. The race is in Arabia. Thankfully,
action sets up the story, not exposition, but still,
this is a lot of story to lay down in the first 5 to
10 minutes. Unfortunately, the peripheral characters
play somewhat cartoony. Fortunately, most of that
changes once Frank and horse board the boat overseas.
There the tale takes on a bit of a serious tone with
better actors, more relaxed directing.
Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn in "Lord of the Rings")
plays Hopkins with subtle splendor. He portrays the
strong silent cowboy who says a lot with his eyes,
the hang of his shoulder, and brief colloquialisms.
His understated acting plays nice contrast to the
obvious dialogue of others in the picture. Louise
Lombard is also very good as the rich British horse
owner.
Still, even with the cartoony first act, even
though the story missed some opportunities for
stronger drama, I liked this picture and would have
graded it an A-. But, there's a terribly hokie
painted-horse scene in there that diluted some
well-earned momentum and mars the believability
factor. I would have also liked a strong Indian
drumming backbeat to the score.
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