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| Matthias Schoenaerts in "The Mustang" Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com |
Writer-director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre brings us a profound view into a prisoner’s journey for absolution in her drama, “The Mustang.” The story deals with the bond between humans and animals that’s not hard to find in movies, but it does so in a deep way that makes this film more than your typical heartstring tugger.
Roman Coleman (Matthias Schoenaerts) has been incarcerated for 12 years in a correctional facility in rural Nevada. After a meeting with a psychologist (Connie Britton), Roman begins participating in a rehabilitation program that focuses on inmates training wild horses. After some time, Roman becomes attached to his horse, who he names Marcus, and the two of them soon find the healing power of each other’s company.
Schoenaerts delivers a heartrending performance as someone who seems to be numb to prison life, becoming used to the idea of living behind bars and being detached from others. It’s this detachment that encourages us to gaze into his soul and try to figure out the type of person he is while locked away, and the person he was before the events of the movie. When his character starts to train Marcus, Schoenaerts shows Roman’s renewed sense of purpose and dedication as he connects with his horse. His finest scene in the film comes in the third act when he breaks down to his daughter (Gideon Adlon) and asks her for forgiveness for the pain that he caused his family. It’s a moving scene where he allows us to see his feelings at their most raw and shows the sincere connections that he’s capable of having with other people.
The film has a terrific supporting cast, including Britton, Adlon, Bruce Dern as the prison’s rancher; and Jason Mitchell as the prison’s top trainer. They each bring their acting strengths to these roles, with their characters being lifelines for Roman as they try to help him get back in touch with his humanity that seems to have been lost during his time in prison.
The screenplay by Clermont-Tonnerre, Mona Fastvold, and Brock Norman Brock, which is based on a rehabilitation program in Carson City, Nevada, constructs a story that makes emotional parallels between Roman’s prison life and Marcus’ life in the holding pen. Through these connections, we’re drawn into their friendship as they begin to trust each other and become inseparable. However, the narrative is about more than the bond between Roman and Marcus because it also takes a look at the importance of rehabilitation programs for prisoners that could help them begin their path to being reintegrated into society.
The cinematography by Ruben Impens captures the beauty that can be seen in the wilderness that surrounds the prison. He brings us many sun-drenched shots of Roman and his fellow inmates working outside with the horses, letting us experience what the temporary freedom feels like to the inmates as they tend to their horses, and the closeup shots of Roman and Marcus provide a deep sense of the unbreakable bond that has formed between them.
Clermont-Tonnerre doesn’t approach the subject in a saccharine way, but instead shows some of the difficult realities that the prisoners experience. From the claustrophobia of the cells to the violence that can erupt amongst the prisoners to the strains of the visits between the inmates and their loved ones, Clermont-Tonnerre has this movie go above any emotional trappings that could have befallen this type of story. The film’s avoidance of being overdramatic is what makes Roman’s arc so impactful, and this helps make his and Marcus’ connection more beautiful against the film’s prison backdrop.
The surprising amount of depth in “The Mustang” makes it one of the best movies of the year, so far. It transports you to a place that may seem steeped in hopelessness, but enables you to see the goodness that can be reached within others and the unexpected turns that someone’s damaged life can take that may lead them to something better.
Grade: A
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