Buck

You know the type - the movie you get with all the best intentions, whether you buy it, request it from Netflix, the library, or TiVo, and then you let it sit on the shelf not really fully remembering why you wanted it in the first place.

I see Buck as that type of movie - it's about Bill Brennaman, who's as close to the real-deal of a horse whisperer if there ever was one. In fact he worked with Robert Redford on the film The Horse Whisperer, lending his skills and story to shape characters and get horses to corporate.

The film, although lacking that hook to get you to stick it in your DVD player, does have a great story and a pleasant pace. This pleasantness is probably more than anything an attribute to Buck himself, who seems like someone who isn't just interesting, but someone who most people would enjoy spending an hour and a half with.

The story follows Buck in a slice of time when he's giving clinics on starting colts, in a way more humane then the traditional break-em-in-a-circle-pen-style. His style is incredible to watch, and as a person who never has (never will) own a horse, watching this was still very interesting.

Buck's own personal story really grabed me, especially a life filled with abuse and foster parenting, and while little is said in the film to formally address how his treatment of horses is radically different then the way he was treated as a child, the film largely tells this story without saying it straight out.

This film is a pleasure to watch, and while I won't say it will change your life, I get the sense that Buck Brennaman is the type of man who changes quite a few.

Buck is one of the 15 films shortlisted for a potential Oscar nomination this year.