The Modern Cowboy is Revived in Chloe Zhao's 'The Rider'
In the opening scene of The Rider, a young man wakes at sunrise to remove four staples from his scalp. Dried blood cakes the dull metal prongs that he drops into the sink. The staples hold a gauze bandage, hiding a brutal head wound that has hardly begun to heal. Peeling off the gauze, he stares at the scar and sways slightly in the bathroom mirror. Turning away, the young man wraps a plastic bag around his head, sighs, and steps into the shower.
Brady was a rodeo cowboy, and up until a few days before we meet him, he was one of the rising stars of the local circuit. But after an injury on the job, he’s been told by family and doctors to lay off riding, period. It seems to be a practical request that acts in his best interests, but to Brady, the prospect is not only unjust but impossible. As the titular rider, Brady’s entire life is centered on his work with horses. He is a remarkable horse trainer, a true lover of rodeo culture and has practically nowhere else to turn. It is no coincidence his story is set in Badlands, South Dakota; a remote and desolate landscape in the heart of the American Midwest. Brady lives in a trailer with his often drunk and ever prideful father Wayne and his mentally disabled younger sister Lilly. His mother passed years before, and the family has clearly disintegrated since. Brady and Wayne bout over drinking, riding, money, and care for Lilly. The two live life by force of will, often going behind one another’s back to see their opinions through.
The film is patient with Brady’s slow regain of health, and slower still in his coming to terms with the limitations of his injury. His will that stirs up such a mess at home keeps him functioning in his social life. His friends, coworkers and community members all expect him to return to competition. To each inquiry of his return, he gives a smile, a slight nod, and assures them in won’t be long. It is this undying dedication that gives the film its soul. The men in Brady’s life, and indeed Brady himself, are bred to ride, just as the horses are bred to be ridden. The commitment is not some pick-up passion, but a truly spiritual and cultural connection. It is perhaps the cruelest irony that Brady’s head wound causes temporary seizures in his right hand; an issue which makes training and riding doubly dangerous. Nevertheless, he hopes to reassume his status in the rodeo community.
Chloé Zhao has made a remarkable film. Though Joshua James Richards’ cinematography captures the country’s quiet beauty wonderfully, and Nathan Halpern’s score amplifies the angst, anger, and solitude of Brady’s recovery experience, what makes The Rider so impactful is the people in it. The Rider is a true story, told by the very people who experienced it. Brady Blackburn is played by Brady Jandreau, a real South Dakotan cowboy and former rodeo star, whose father and sister, Tim and Lilly Jandreau, are also featured in the film. Chloé Zhao, the film’s writer and director, first came across their tale while working on her previous feature Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015). Moved and inspired by their recent hardship, she offered to initiate a collaboration to commit the story to film. The family agreed and have since immortalized this slice of their private life to share with the rest of the world. In itself this decision was a brave and noble feat but met with Zhao’s own directorial prowess, The Rider has become a rare and stunning picture.
