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Hidalgo
(2004)
Starring:
Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif,
Said Taghmaoui
Director:
Joe Johnston
Rating:
PG-13
Studio:
Touchstone Pictures
Release Date:
03.05.04
Review
Posted: 03.09.04
Spoilers:
None
By
Rachel Sexton
Viggo on a Horse - It Doesn’t Get Much Better
After the unprecedented success of The Lord of the Rings
trilogy, Viggo Mortensen has become a household name. His talent and
magnetism has made itself resonate like never before. We like him as a
hero and with his first true leading role; Viggo’s character in
Hidalgo
truly fits that description.
Hidalgo
is
an adventure film of excitement and exoticism that showcases a
charismatic actor.
Hidalgo
is the name of the horse that belongs to Frank Hopkins (Mortensen). As
a team, they never lost a long-distance race. While performing in a
Wild West show for Buffalo Bill Cody (J.K. Simmons), they are told of
the Ocean of Fire race across the Arabian Desert reaching 3,000 miles.
Once the race starts, there are intrigues involving a sheik (Omar
Sharif) and his daughter (Zuliekha Robinson), plus fierce competing
among participants to cross the finish line first. The special
relationship between Hopkins and his horse is the steady thread
throughout the story.
The man and his horse are introduced in the middle of a race, which
they win. A competitor picks a fight with Hopkins and we see his
toughness. The scene that follows involves the death of Indians at
Wounded Knee, which haunts Hopkins, as he is half-Indian himself. The
use of Old West heroes like Wild Bill and Calamity Jane is a nice
touch. This is used for a bit of humor later in the film as the Sheik
likes to read stories about Indians. In fact, the script is peppered
with some good funny moments like that.
The storyline is captivating from the very beginning and never gets
boring. There are tense scenes and thrilling action sequences both
during the race and outside of it. Predictably, Hopkins and Hidalgo
reach a point where things look grim, and then the film builds to a
slow-motion approach to the finish line. Do they win? Watch and see.
The subplot with two villains supports the central plot quite well,
and the ending is satisfying and feels appropriate.
Moreover, the style of the film is pretty cool. The staging and
cinematography by Shelly Johnson is at times memorable and fresh. The
horses in particular are lovingly photographed. In the moment of
deepest despair for Hopkins and Hidalgo comes in the form of
oppressive heat and the technique used to represent this heat works
very well. The costumes are appealing, yet the music score by James
Newton Howard strikes as a tad uneven; it overloads a bit at the end.
On the other hand, I really like the exotic mise-en-scene of the film,
with its desert and West locales and Arabic culture.
This is Viggo Mortensen’s movie, as I said before, and he is perfectly
cast. After proving his ability to carry nine hours worth of film in
The Lord of the Rings, it should be no surprise that he can
easily dominate a film at two and a half hours. He is strong and
engaging, and it’s so cool to see Sharif. Robinson is good, too,
especially the way she portrays her character, plus her interaction
with Mortensen works.
Mortensen’s lead presence, as well as the exoticism and excitement of
the story, are what impresses about the adventure epic
Hidalgo.
For adventure that is always interesting with glints of humor and a
mix of East and West atmosphere, this film delivers.
Film Rating:
êêêê (out of
5)
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