The Rider Movie Review

The Rider (2017)

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Written by: Chloé Zhao
Directed by: Chloé Zhao
Starring: Brady Jandreau, Mooney, Tim Jandreau
Rated: R
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Plot
After suffering a near fatal head injury, young cowboy Brady who was a rising star in the rodeo circuit, undertakes a search for new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.

Verdict
This is an indie film and it feels like it, Brady Jandreau is playing a version of himself.  He really was in the rodeo and did suffer head trauma. All of the actors are playing a version of their real life selves. While they aren't actors and the performances noticeably restrained, it also lets the story take a prominent role. You can't help but feel sympathy for Brady. He was a rising star and one accident changes everything. What do you do with your life when you have to give up your passion? This is part movie, part documentary and because of that it has a lot of impact.
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Review
This blurs fact and fiction, based on lead actor Brady Jandrea's life.  His dad and sister play those roles in the movie, as do his friends. At one point Brady watches his accident, that's footage from his actual accident.

Brady rides in the rodeo. He's good at it too, but an accident where his head got stepped on has left his future uncertain. The doctors tell him he can't ride, but Brady isn't willing to give up on his passion and a sport he's trained for.
His friends tell him to ride through the pain. While Brady tells them a brain injury is different than a couple of broken ribs, his friends didn't see the first scene, Brady removing a bandage and revealing a row of closely spaced staples wrapping around his head.

One of Brady's good friends is Lane who also rode in the rodeo but is now paralyzed and unable to speak. It's a reminder of what can happen in the ring and how lucky Brady is. He may have lost his sport, but he still can live life. The problem is that without the rodeo Brady has no skills or means for a job. He never finished high school and he needs money.

Everyone doubts whether he'll ride again. Brady has been told to give up everything he knows, and he has to deal with people telling him he'll never come back to it. It's a lot of weight for anyone. While Brady doesn't want to accept it, he knows he's not healed. Brady hasn't spent any time to recover and his doctor tells him he's only making recovery worse.

Brady's only other skill is horse training, and he's told he can't even do that. There's something about seeing horse training on screen. There's so many different ways it could go bad, that and Brady is training a wild animal in essence.

This feels like an indie movie. The performance is restrained and that's because Jandrea isn't an actor, but that lets the story, and the emotional impact, take the spotlight. This shares some facets of a Western, and Brady is certainly a stoic John Wayne cowboy who doesn't say much. Not that Brady has to, it's easy to see him wrestling with his pride while he works in a grocer store and people ask him if he's that bronc rider. He tells them he's making money while he heals up, but does he believe it?

Zhao, the director, first met Jandrea before the accident and thought he had the ability to be an actor. After his accident, Zhao made a movie around what happened to Jandreau.