In a summer of things that go boom, and big budget visual feasts, the new drama Seabiscuit is, above all, a refreshing change of pace. It also happens to be a beautifully fashioned film with plenty of heart.

Taking place during the depression era, this heartwarming movie tells the story of three broken down men whose lives intersect with the help of an equally challenged race horse called Seabiscuit.

This is an ensemble piece, and writer/director Gary Ross (Pleasantville) seamlessly orchestrates these four unique individuals whose lives come to a harmony as they pursue a second shot at their own lives set to the backdrop of an America struggling to right itself as well.

Jeff Bridges is fantastic as an idealistic dreamer who obtains his goals by always sticking his neck out and taking a chance. As good as he is, it's hard to watch him in Seabiscuit and not think of his similar turn in Frances Ford Coppola's excellent Tucker. This isn't a jab mind you. I think the actor is terrific in both films, and watching Mr. Bridges overcome a personal tragedy by helping others do the same will do your heart some good.

Chris Cooper chimes in with yet another brilliant performance as an old fashioned cowboy who seems slightly distraught by the progression of the world around him. He'd be much happier living off the land, but does the best with the hand he's been dealt. Tobey Maguire is effective as the young man orphaned by the Depression, who earns his shot at becoming a professional jockey by surviving many a lesson courtesy of the school of hard knocks. And of course, we have the title character, a horse that, against all odds, becomes one of the most beloved racehorses of all time.

The fact that the horse himself is treated as a full bodied character, is one of the reasons this picture works as well as it does. Like the three men, we can feel his pain as well and this makes the final moments of the picture all the more satisfying.

Ross and his crew have done a magnificent job with the look of this picture. The opening shots of Chris Cooper blazing across the countryside in pursuit of a herd of wild horses is breathtaking but it's the exhilirating and realistic horse race sequences that really give the movie it's kick. We aren't only given long shots of the action - Ross also puts us in the saddle so that we can feel the tension. We even hear the jockeys taunting each other. It all makes for an exciting ride.

Seabiscuit certainly has a fair share of tear-jerking moments, but rarely does it come off as button-pushing sentimentality. Yes, I knew who would win the big race, and it was quite obvious where the film was headed. Then again, it's based on a true story and it is the truth that resonates. If some of the stuff in this film were fictitious, it might have felt a little too melodramatic. Yet, despite it's predictability and somewhat pat plot mechanisms, there is something undeniably magical about this movie. And, for a sports film, it plays like a big, beautiful slice of Americana - reminiscent of The Natural, rather than slipping into the nausea-inducing sap of The Legend of Bagger Vance. This movie also benefits from strong character development unlike the similarly themed The Horse Whisperer.

Seabiscuit is slickly produced to be sure, but in the end, it's the perfect example of a feel good movie that works nearly every step of the way. This is clearly one of the most entertaining films of the summer and, at this point in the race, an odds-on favorite for several Oscar nods.