The Mustang isn’t the first movie about a hardened prisoner’s redemption, nor is it unique in its exploration of the therapeutic role played by animals. French director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre’s 2019 film distinguishes itself through its nuanced storytelling, the way in which actors are handled and its understanding of prison life.
The English-language film is based on an actual rehabilitation programme in which prisoners train wild mustang horses so that they can be auctioned. The end credits of The Mustang show prisoners with the marvellous beasts they have tamed and befriended.
Matthias Schoenaerts plays Roman, a taciturn inmate of a prison in Nevada. Scarred by the crime for which he has been jailed, Roman prefers solitude to human company. He’s a difficult man to be around, which perhaps makes him the perfect match for Marquis, a difficult mustang that refused to be broken.
Roman’s repeated efforts to communicate with Marquis are complicated by his uncontrollable rage as well as Marquis’s headstrong nature. The building of a relationship between man and horse takes place alongside Roman’s attempt to reconnect with his estranged daughter Martha (Gideon Adlon).
The Mustang is available on JioHotstar. The 2019 production acts as a companion piece to Chloe Zhao’s The Rider (2017) in its understated, visually striking examination of the unspoken bond that can exist between humans and horses.
Cinematographer Ruben Impens shoots the magnificent equine specimens of The Mustang with as much care as he films the prison. Roman’s cramped, under-lit confines are in stark contrast to the sun-drenched expanse of the corral where the mustangs are domesticated. Despite being out in the open, Roman still feels trapped, a prisoner in soul as well as body.
The screenplay writers include Mona Fastvold, who co-wrote Brady Corbet’s Oscar-winning The Brutalist (2024). Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre, a French actor, makes an assured directing debut with The Mustang. She brings to the film curiosity and wonderment about the American West’s unique landscape, as well as empathy towards her rugged characters.
In addition to following Roman’s journey, The Mustang also looks at other inmates, many of whom regret the split-second violence that has brought them behind bars. Bruce Dern has a lovely cameo as a stern rancher who shows Roman his place.
The film belongs to Matthias Schoenaerts, the Belgian star who has a knack for depicting bruised masculinity. Schoenaerts movingly plays a man who has committed a terrible crime but hesitates when redemption arrives on four legs. In the interplay between man and beast, The Mustang poses thought-provoking questions on what it means to be free.
Also start the week with these films:
‘Sea of Love’ is a moody, sexy whodunit
‘Nickel Boys’ erases the distance between character and viewer
‘The Order’ is a gripping exploration of America’s white militia problem
