Recommendation: 4/5 Stars, SHOWTIME

Plot: “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.” -IMDB

Review: Roman Coleman is caged and enraged. He finds himself isolated from the rest of the prison population; which is exactly the way he likes it. Serving time as a violent convict, Roman has resided to spend the rest of his days on this Earth right where we find him at the beginning of this film. Outside his cell, other plans are in the works. The prison where Roman finds himself acts as a rehabilitation and therapy program for the taming and training of wild mustangs. He doesn’t know it at the time, but Roman is on a crash course with one of these wild beasts.

Lured from his cage and placed in the general population, Roman enters the rehabilitation program. No longer isolated, he finds himself staring at a kindred spirit. At this point, it becomes a waiting game to see whose spirit will break first. Enclosed in a pen with a horse that wants nothing to do with him, we watch Roman try and fail to tame the animal. Back inside the prison, we watch him come face to face with an echo from his past; the daughter he left behind. Mirroring the spirit of the horse he is attempting to break; we are left to wonder if Roman’s daughter will be able to do the same.

“The Mustang” is a movie about second chances, patience, and walls coming down. The horses in this film are reflections of the men trying to get them ready for auction. Stubborn, restless, and angry without reason, we watch over and over again as prisoners come face-to-face with animals that act as they do. If Roman wants to truly be free and afforded a second chance, he too will have to break and come to terms with what landed him in prison in the first place and those he left in his wake. Without a doubt, the scenes he shares with his daughter are the most engrossing and endearing in the entire film.

In the end, a mustang that Roman originally wanted nothing to do with becomes his saving grace. Much like Roman, both are animals reborn looking for some freedom to roam. The film allows the outcome for Roman to linger, but that doesn’t discount the impact the two have on each other. For its ability to connect, I cannot recommend this movie enough. It is a gem that deserves to be seen by a wide audience.

Be good to each other,

-Nathan

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