This is the story of Brady Blackburn (Brady Jandreau),
who is trying to rebuild his life after suffering a near fatal head
injury in a saddle bronc riding event in a rodeo. There
are enough themes here to fuel many movies: family, friendship, self
worth, acceptance, personal passion, peer pressure, male identity,
cowboy life. This movie gets into Brady's life so intimately that
it is hard not to identify with him, especially if you have had
events that have redirected your life in unexpected and unwelcome
ways (and who has not?)
All of the actors are non-professionals, in fact the story is a slight fictionalization of the life of Brady Jandreau. Appearing with Jandreau are his real life father and autistic sister. All of this adds up to a realism that makes this film almost a documentary. I never felt any awkwardness that I frequently experience when watching inexperienced actors.
There are many memorable scenes. There is a sequence that has Jandreau in a ring taming a wild horse. That scene must have been hell to film, since the camera is right in there. That scene takes advantage of Jandreau's being a horse trainer in real life--I think no actor could have pulled it off.
Cinematographer Joshua James Richards deserves much credit for capturing some stunningly beautiful, melancholy shots taken in the South Dakota Badlands. Much of the movie is filmed in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The scenes having Brady walking by himself in vast open spaces accentuate his lonely struggle.
The scenes that have Brady visiting his physically damaged friend in a rehab center were almost too painful for me to watch.
Brady's dad talked about playing the hand you are dealt in life-- it looked like he was poorly playing a poor hand, but you could understand him without being too judgmental. A lot of the people in this movie seem to have been dealt poor hands.
The score is effective but unobtrusive.
This is a small movie that punches way above its weight.
All of the actors are non-professionals, in fact the story is a slight fictionalization of the life of Brady Jandreau. Appearing with Jandreau are his real life father and autistic sister. All of this adds up to a realism that makes this film almost a documentary. I never felt any awkwardness that I frequently experience when watching inexperienced actors.
There are many memorable scenes. There is a sequence that has Jandreau in a ring taming a wild horse. That scene must have been hell to film, since the camera is right in there. That scene takes advantage of Jandreau's being a horse trainer in real life--I think no actor could have pulled it off.
Cinematographer Joshua James Richards deserves much credit for capturing some stunningly beautiful, melancholy shots taken in the South Dakota Badlands. Much of the movie is filmed in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The scenes having Brady walking by himself in vast open spaces accentuate his lonely struggle.
The scenes that have Brady visiting his physically damaged friend in a rehab center were almost too painful for me to watch.
Brady's dad talked about playing the hand you are dealt in life-- it looked like he was poorly playing a poor hand, but you could understand him without being too judgmental. A lot of the people in this movie seem to have been dealt poor hands.
The score is effective but unobtrusive.
This is a small movie that punches way above its weight.