The story of Roman Coleman, a violent convict, who is given the chance to participate in a rehabilitation therapy program involving the training of wild mustangs.
Pam says:Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre creates “The Mustang,” a revelatory film about Roman, a hopeless, isolated incarcerated man (Mattias Shoenaerts) who enters into a horse training rehabilitation program. Gorgeously shot, this evocative and soulful film delves into our penal system as it draws parallel lines between all creatures. Schoenaerts’ haunting performance captures the despair of a hopeless man who, when given just a microscopic glimmer of humanity and hope, slowly changes. Dern has a performance that rivals his more recent and very memorable “Nebraska,” and together, with Clermont-Tonnerre’s direction, the ensemble cast create an honest and riveting story that forever changes you. (Read the interview with the writer/director at https://ff2media.com/blog/2019/03/20/director-clermont-tonnerre-makes-room-for-second-chances-in-the-mustang/
Chuck says: There are little in the way in the way of originality where the script is concerned yet the understated yet powerful tone Clermont-Tonnerre adapts and the strong performance from Shoenaerts trumps these concerns. Before you know it, you’re pulling for Roman to come to terms with his past and mend what fences he can. The film’s predictability is brushed aside once we’re inside this man’s stark life. One of the best films of the young year, the final image will prove haunting for most.
