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Animals in Prisons ... a good idea? I would say yes - and there are apparently studies that confirm that it helps those incarcerated. Horses are symbols of freedom so this is not even a subtle attempt that is being conveyed to the viewer. But one that is very well done.

Robert Redford produced this and I reckon it is just another reminder of how (socially) active he is. Yes he is not just a good looking boy (he'll be forever young, no matter his current age), but one that uses his fame and his power to do something good. And I would say if at least some people watching this realize the potential - the good it can do to have programs like this in prisons ... it hopefully will help in the long run.

Now while that all may sound nice and dandy, there is also a lot grittiness, a lot of violence ... it is a prison after all. So do not be surprised if this does not hold back punches .. or stabs for that matter. The ending .. almost poetic though! Could not have been a better one ... and then the text about different states and statistics.

I wasn't going to write a review since many better reviews have been written but then I saw some very negative reviews which were way off base. This is not a kid's movie, not a comedy, not a rom-com. It's hard nosed and sometimes tough to watch but it is, imho, a very good movie and better than 3/4s the movies that were released in the same time period. The producer was Robert Redford. Bruce Dern is one of the supporting actors. That should get your attention. It was filmed on site at an amazing facility. It is true that it can make you feel uncomfortable but there are moments of true transcendency. I think everything tends to be subjective but I think this movie deserves every chance it can get to be seen. Disregard the negativity, it is a very good movie.

Triumphs of the human spirit constitute perhaps cinema's most enduring story material, and this French film shot in Nevada brings a powerful existentialist message to the viewer without the preachiness one might expect of an American movie on the subject.

Matthias Schoenaerts, his shaven head and rock-solid physique suggesting a Vin Diesel, is magnificent in the lead role, a convict without hope or direction paralleled with the title wild horse he's tasked to train for sale to police departments or ranchers in a prison program run by craggy old Bruce Dern. Connie Britton makes the most of her two scenes as a prison psychologist working on rehabilitation.

Most of the cast is non-pro, actual prisoners from such a program giving solid performances for debuting feature director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre. Echoes of "The Myth of Sysiphus" and other existential writings underpin the action, but Laure carefully makes it a visual cinematic experience, not one of those 1950s Playhouse 90 classics from TV's Golden Age. Free of sentimentalism, it also keeps the melodramatic subplot involving chicanery and violence in prison to an absolute minimum, and is a wholly satisfying movie with universal appeal.

The pitch for The Mustang is about as hackneyed as it gets - a dangerous convict who hits out at everything and everyone is given a shot at redemption by working with a dangerous horse who hits out at everything and everyone, and as the man starts to tame the animal, the animal starts to tame the man. So far, so Hallmark Channel movie of the week; a story so familiar, it seems impossible it could communicate anything of interest. Except, despite its derivative underpinnings, The Mustang has been made with such craft that it transcends the clichés and works exceptionally well on its own terms. Tonally similar to recent equine-related films such as Lean on Pete (2017) and Le cowboy (2017), whilst also covering some of the same narrative ground as Michael Mann and David Milch's criminally underappreciated TV show, Luck (2011), The Mustang touches on issues such as masculine guilt, penitentiary stoicism, and human-animal trust, but really, this is a character study. And yes, chances are everything you think might happen does happen, but the acting, the emotional beats, and the sense of authenticity all contribute to the whole, wherein it turns out the familiarity of the destination doesn't matter that much when the journey to get there is so well executed.

Roman Coleman (Matthias Schoenaerts) is serving a 12-year bit in a Nevada jail and has just been released from solitary. He's so emotionally shut down that the prison's psychologist (Connie Britton) can barely get him to confirm his name, let alone open up about his feelings. Assigned to "outdoor maintenance", he is to clean up the horse dung from the mustangs used in the Wild Horse Inmate Program (WHIP), which sees a select few inmates "gentle" the animals - essentially, tame them so they can be sold at auction. Coleman keeps to himself, but is drawn to a barn in which a single horse repeatedly kicks the door. Seeing Coleman's interest, head trainer Myles (Bruce Dern doing his Bruce Dern thing) decides to give him a chance to work with the horse, although he warns him that it's considered unbreakable, and will likely be euthanized. Naming him Marquis (although he mispronounces it as Marcus), Coleman sets about attempting to connect with Marquis in a way in which he hasn't connected with anyone or anything in many years.

Executive produced by Robert Redford, The Mustang was initially developed through the Sundance Institute. Written by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Mona Fastvold, and Brock Norman Brock and based on de Clermont-Tonnerre's short Rabbit (2014), The Mustang is her feature directorial debut. As the opening and closing legends tell us, WHIP is real, with prisons across 13 states adopting it, and research showing there is a significant dip in recidivist rates amongst inmates who have worked with the horses (the rehabilitative potential of WHIP was also an important plot point in Luck).

Despite the narrative outline suggesting otherwise, The Mustang is not a sentimental film. De Clermont-Tonnerre avoids, for example, romanticising the relationship between Coleman and Marquis; they don't have some kind of profound psychic bond, rather they connect emotionally, nothing more. Their relationship is not an opportunity for glib esotericism regarding the human condition, it's a simple friendship. Belying her directorial inexperience, de Clermont-Tonnerre shows a terrific instinct for how close or how removed we should be at any given moment; at times, she stands back and allows the characters room to breathe, whilst at others, she muscles into the action. This is important when we get to the third act, as she shows remarkable (almost documentarian) directorial restraint, shooting the film's last few scenes, where the potential for melodrama at its strongest, in such a way that such melodrama is never allowed to overwhelm the smaller more realistic character beats.

In terms of acting, this is Schoenaerts's film, with his performance recalling his work in De rouille et d'os (2012), Maryland (2015), and, most obviously, his portrayal of Jacky Vanmarsenille in Bullhead (2011). Coleman shares a lot of characteristics with Vanmarsenille, and Schoenaerts hits many of the same beats, particularly the barely controlled temper that could erupt at any moment. The performance is all the more impressive when you consider how little dialogue Schoenaerts has, instead conveying emotion via physicality. Pay attention, for example, to his gait, which subtly changes over the course of the film in tandem with his developing arc.

Perhaps the most obvious similarity between Coleman and Vanmarsenille, however, is their connection with animals. In Rundskop, Vanmarsenille is repeatedly compared to the bulls his family rear, whether through shot composition or editing. This comparative vein is even more pronounced in The Mustang. For example, the film opens on a tight close-up of a mustang's eye, and the first time we see Coleman, it's a BCU of him opening his eyes as horse hooves play on the soundtrack. Later, there's a shot in which Coleman is reflected in Marquis's eye and a scene where both he and Marquis are pinned to the ground, facing one another. When Coleman is confined to his cell, we see him pacing back and forth and punching the wall, recalling Marquis's behaviour in the stall. Sure, none of this is subtle, but it is effective, with de Clermont-Tonnerre showing a surprising ability to communicate emotions and themes via pure visuals.

Thematically, of course, the main theme is the similarity between man and beast - Coleman and Marquis are both wild and unruly, and both must be brought to a condition of amiability. Within this, the other big theme is the danger of losing self-control. A crucial scene in this respect, and one of the best in the film, is an anger management class with the psychologist, who asks each prisoner how long passed between the thought of their crime and its execution, and how long have they been in jail. None of the men say there was anything more than a few seconds between thought and deed. The point is clear; a split-second decision has landed then in prison for years. It could be a scene out of any number of prison documentaries (it would have fit right into The Work (2017), the superb documentary about the Inside Circle program in Folsom), and it's a good example of de Clermont-Tonnerre hanging back when she needs to.

Of course, the film is not perfect. For a start, for some people, the narrative beats, particularly the penitentiary redemption arc, will just be too familiar. The fact is that we've all seen pretty much everything of which The Mustang is composed, and for some, that aspect will simply be off-putting. De Clermont-Tonnerre does a fine job of sidestepping almost all of the clichés inherent in this kind of story, but the mere fact that there are so many clichés to avoid in the first place will discourage some people. A bigger issue is a subplot involving Dan (Josh Stewart), Coleman's cellmate, who blackmails him into smuggling ketamine into the prison. This subplot feels like it's been imported from another film entirely, but in incomplete form - it's introduced late in proceedings, is only half-heartedly explored, and ends without much in the way of resolution. These scene are the weakest and the most inauthentic in the film. The narrative needs Coleman to be at a certain place at a certain time, and de Clermont-Tonnerre uses this storyline to facilitate that. But there were far more organic ways to have accomplished this without resorting to a subplot that is so tonally divorced from everything around it.

These few issues notwithstanding, I thoroughly enjoyed The Mustang. On paper, this is a clichéd social protest film with a classic redemption arc, but de Clermont-Tonnerre fashions it into something far more emotionally authentic. She embraces, for the most part, non-judgmental restraint, simplicity, and sincerity, and more than once communicates meaning via purely visual statements. She's working perilously close to cliché, but her intimate direction and Schoenaerts's committed performance allow the film to remain always genuine and respectful. Basing the drama around the real-world WHIP, de Clermont-Tonnerre suggests that, as in other restorative therapies, when you treat someone like a human being, oftentimes, you will find their humanity. And the irony, and the film's most fascinating and beautifully handled trope, is that Coleman's humanity could only be found, drawn out, and nurtured by an animal.

The story is great in terms of the human element. It is both beautiful and painful.

As a horse owner, I just couldn't get past how 100% ridiculous the actual horse stuff was. I loved that they used some participants in the program as actors, but the way they dramatized it left a really bad taste in my mouth. Viewers could have learned something about horses - even something basic like pressure and release - but instead what they were shown was that "anyone" can start a wild mustang with zero experience and everything will work out fine in 12 weeks. Not a single helmet in the entire film. Face palm.

Seven stars because I know I have to forgive the horse stuff and focus on what the film was actually about.

A Movie with no political agendas, Very down to earth and believable. The Film makers did a wonderful job of demonstrate how less is more.

"The Mustang" is a heartfelt emotional drama that shows how connection and exploring and experiencing interactions can help a person. The tale is of a prisoner in rural Nevada who struggles to escape his past only to be helped and treated in a new social program. This involves training a stubborn Mustang named Marcus. Look for some good work from veteran Bruce Dern as a veteran trainer and other fellow inmates assist in this new program. All of this is a new heartfelt connection of hope and a challenge and chance to be a better person, something that all should take to.

When Robert Redford attaches himself to a film as Executive Producer, other than last years "The Old Man & the Gun," one should pay attention. Toss in yet another fine gruff performance by Bruce Durn, an Award worthy lead performance by Matthias Schoenaerts ("The Danish Girl") as convict Roman Coleman, and an equistrian rehabilitation story line that hasn't been presented in this manner before, and you've got a film viewing experience with substance. Director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (2015 Aspen Shortfest Special Jury Winner for "Rabbit" and 2015 Sundance NHK Award winner for "The Mustang") introduces the viewing audience to wild mustang prison rehabilitation therapy program, via the the incarceration of Roman, who has shut himself off from his daughter (nicely presented by Gideon Adlon "The Society" TV) and life outside of his 12-years in prison. While the story leads the viewer down a somewhat predictable road, Roman's conflicted and reserved journey, along with his various contentious interaction with his horse (Marcus), is hard to look away from. Schoenaerts really steps outside the usual roles he is recognized for, and for this reason his performance places him securely into higher category of actors. One of my favs, Connie Britton ("Dirty John" TV), has a cameo here that's less than stellar, but it's alway great to see her work, and Jason Mitchell (Henry) and Josh Stewart (Dan) have arrived on the actor radar. The issue with "The Mustang" is that director/writer de Clermont-Tonnerre, and fellow writers Brock Norman Brock and Mona Fastvold, present several interesting side stories (drugs, murder, life in prison) along Roman's journey that are never flushed out. Regardless, "The Mustang" will be the sleeper film you'll want to experience.

Good movie. Interesting story. Good entertainment. I enjoyed watching. The story develops by comparing a man's attempt to tame his horse with life's attempt to tame this man. It deserves a good grade. I highly recommend it to all.

Yesterday evening, I saw this film at a premiere in the presence of the actor Matthias Schoenaerts, the director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, the producer Alain Goldman and part of the film crew, within UGC Les Halles, in Paris. Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre and Alain Goldman briefly mentioned the manifold difficulties dealing with the making of a first film abroad. Women in the audience were clearly under the spell of Matthias Schoenaerts who behaved like he was himself under Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre's spell.

Without unduly spoiling the script, Roman Coleman (Matthias Schoenaerts) is incarcerated for aggravated violence. After a decade in prison, most under total isolation, he has the opportunity to benefit from a rehabilitation program involving the training of wild mustangs. But before controlling a wild animal such as a mustang, first you must be able to control yourself. And that's definitely the point. Thus, we see Roman (the prisoner) and Marquis (the mustang) taming to each other, as the fox and the little prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1943).

The script is predictable and the taming phase is described as elliptically as naively, but we can easily cope with this secondary observation. Moreover, the cast is excellent, the Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts enjoying a legendary charisma and a remarkable aura. He is also perfectly seconded by Jason Mitchell and Bruce Dern. In fact, I was particularly moved by the message of hope transpiring throughout the entire film, a prison being generally reduced to the single status of « let's hide the dust under the carpet », that is to say that as long as the scum is in jail, the society will feel better (it is certainly a plus) but without really worrying about the after-jail (that's weird, isn't it?)

As a synthesis: a lovely tale brimming with beneficence, philanthropy and humanity. 7/8 of 10.

It's slow. Very little dialog. An interesting story with decent enough acting but weak directing and editing. If you know horses at all (or prisons for that matter) some things aren't accurate or believable, but it's cool that some states really have this program for the inmates to train wild mustangs. Working with animals can teach responsibility, patience, gentleness, and be life-changing, similar to how they show in this movie. (a little language and some violence) Just slightly missed the marked to be all it could have been, In My Humble Opinion!

Overall "The Mustang" is entertaining if you know little or nothing about how horses really behave. The movie is created to tug at our human hearts at the expense of humane horse management and training. For instance there is no way that the horse once released into the wild will every come close to that prison again, rather it will find a herd to join up with. In true movie making style each scene is created to "wrangle the heart" of the viewer, not realistically but with intensity and drama. Working with horses takes time and much patience, which understandably can't be squeezed into a feature film. So saddle up, enjoy the movie and then learn how to really work with and train horses.

A great indie film, we were engrossed in the story the entire movie. Beautiful scenery and magnificent horses. Matthias Schoenaerts was fantastic in his role as the main character Roman. Also enjoyed Bruce Dern, in his role as main rancher.

Such an amazing and beautiful story, Matthias was phenomenal!!!

Animals have been coaxing the soft side out of tough guys since Clint Eastwood co-starred with an orangutan, yet there's still something poignant about this man engaging with a warmer world. Yes Wort Watching. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 3/21/2021

"The Mustang" (2019 co-production from the US, France, and Belgium; 96 min.) brings the story of Roman. At the movie's beginning, we are informed that over 100,000 wild mustangs roam in the US, from which several hundreds are taken to prisons each year for training by inmates. The opening scenes bring us one of those round-ups, as a chopper is directing a herd of mustangs towards captivity. We are introduced to Roman, locked up (for what crime?) in a maximum security prison in Nevada. "I'm not good with people", he tells the reclassification officer, so she puts him in the outdoor maintenance program. Initially it's just cleaning up horse manure, but eventually he gets to work with one of the mustangs. In a parallel story, Roman is visited by his highly pregnant daughter, and their meeting is - strained... At this point we're 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the feature length directing debut of Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (better known for her acting career in France), and what a debut it is! She also co-wrote the script. She brings a multi-faceted story: yes, there is the redemption side where a hardened criminal finds new hope when bonding with a mustang, but there is also the complicated father-daughter angle (which surprised me on several occasions as that played out), and of course there is the aspect of life in prison. Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts was made to play the role of Roman: a very physical yet nuanced performance (in the same way that it reminded me of Marlon Brando--but I'm not saying that Schoenaerts is in the league of Brando!). Bruce Dern has a small role as the heard of the mustang training program. The photography is eye-candy from start to finish. And then there are the mustangs, themselves a character in the movie. In the end, the biggest treasure that was uncovered in this film may well be Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre. I can't wait to see what she will do next. (Please note that Robert Redford is credited as Executive Producer.)

"The Mustang" premiered to immediate acclaim at this year's Sundance film festival, It is not a coincidence that this movie is currently certified 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. "The Mustang" recently opened at my art-house movie theater here in Cincinnati. The Friday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended poorly (5 people to be exact, myself included). That is a shame. Maybe the movie will find a wider audience as it is released in different formats. If you are up for a top-quality movie with a dazzling performance from Matthias Schoenaerts, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

Some beautiful footage of the mustang herds in the wild opens up this thought provoking film. At the very least you will walk away with a new respect for these beautiful horses and a new little pain in your heart when you see what the years have done to their existence. Great job introducing the similarity between man and beast as well as redemption. No teary type sentiment, lessons from the film which took some talent both in the screen writing as well as the acting.Kudos for producing a film that for the most part revolves around the prison and leaving out the typical emphasis on hard core language, sex, violence, etc. Thought provoking and eye opening on many fronts. Would have rated higher but some of the dialog was hard to hear/comprehend. Would definitely recommend as a movie for both him and her.

The Mustang is a beautiful and emotional movie not only about the idea of redemption but the idea that people aren't as shallow as one action they commit. This movie has a purpose, it has something it wants to say and everything in this film is nearly pulled off flawlessly. You could feel the passion in every scene from the filmmakers, the cast and just everything from the moment the film began, making it very easy for me to get emotionally invested in whatever was happening on screen. The opening scene is flawless, establishing a necessary emotional connection between the audience and the Mustangs which is very important. For this movie to really work you need to feel invested in the animal and sympathize with them just as much as you need to connect with the prisoner and the film pulls this off perfectly. Matthias Schoenaerts Performance as Roman Coleman is phenomenal! Matthias really pulls off the introverted like character perfectly so you can really feel the disconnect not only between Roman and society but between Roman and everyone he comes into contact with. You can genuinely feel the isolation through the character and it really puts you into the movie. You can really feel the pain and regret Roman feels about the decisions he has made and because of that you really connect with him and start separating the prisoner from the crime. This all ties in with the overall theme of one action not defining a person and it works flawlessly. Thought Mathias delivers a masterful performance, he isn't the only one to carry this movie acting-wise. Actually, I would say the entire cast was phenomenal and the chemistry between them was fantastic and nothing less than impressive. This movie is also incredibly shot, every scene in this movie is mysteriously sickening yet beautiful and the atmosphere this takes place in is perfect for the story and character. I also love a lot of the other messages and ideas the film plays with like how a prisoner is so consumed by the world they just left that they refuse to let go of the past, this is shown win Roman refuses to sign the paper allowing his daughter to sell his mothers house. The house ties him to a time in his life that still feels recent to him and he doesn't want to let that go. It also plays with the idea of how even though an inmate is trapped in one moment of their life, people they care about are all growing and moving on. You can really see how those two ideas add to Romans' character. This movie not only focuses on the physical trauma an inmate can indoor on a daily basis but the guaranteed beat down a prisoner goes through psychologically. Especially with Roman who had to endure a ton of time in solitary confinement which adds even more trauma to the character. I think what I love about this movie is how deep it really goes, this movie introduces a lot of different and important ideas in a pretty short about of time but at the end, you feel completely satisfied with everything that happened. It doesn't feel like you didn't get enough answers or that the movie was rushed, the movie is paced perfectly and it creates a perfectly satisfying film. This movie also does an incredible job of showing the obvious trauma marquis the mustang went through, this is important because it is the basis of the connection between Marquis and Roman. They are both hurting on the inside and can't vocalize their feeling so when they look into each other's eyes for the first time they bond immediately because they truly understand each other frustration. The Mustang is emotional, beautiful, powerful and a true masterpiece of cinema. The writing is phenomenal and you'll find yourself deeply invested in the story and characters in this movie. The camera work is phenomenal, as well as the production design and cinematography was. At the end of the day, the Mustang is a nearly flawless movie that I'd recommend everyone to watch asap.

Rating 9.5/10

People don't change that fast and horses don't act that way. The acting was good but the story is not at all realistic. Like Schoenaerts better when he doesn't try to be mean, violent, and ugly.