Matthias Schoenaerts in The Mustang (Focus Features

The Mustang tells an involving story of struggle and redemption through the Wild Horse Inmate Program, where tough men work with wild horses in a prison facility. The actors, the horses, and the Nevada scenery are so gorgeous that director/co-writer Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre’s debut feature rises above docudrama, even with some forced plot turns for added tension.

The opening scene where a helicopter hovers above a mustang herd introduces viewers to the Bureau of Land Management’s regular round-ups of surplus wild horses in an effort to preserve fragile public lands. Hundreds are transported to specialized Adopt-a-Horse Programs in prisons in Arizona, Colorado, California, Kansas, and Wyoming, where they are trained by inmates for eventual sale at public auctions.

In a striking Nevada setting of a restrictive jail bounded by desert and the Rocky Mountains, as beautifully contrasted by cinematographer Ruben Impens, Roman Coleman (Matthias Schoenaerts, in his bulked-up, inarticulate mode of Bullhead and Rust and Bone) is sent outside to do maintenance work. That means shoveling a lot of horse manure in the stables. Despite the smell and the harangues of supervisor Myles (Bruce Dern, in one of his best craggy old man roles), Roman appreciates being outside, especially away from his gangster cellmate, Dan (Josh Stewart).

After he helps evacuate the horses to safety during a thunder storm, Roman is surprised that Myles promotes him to learn horse training, especially for the most intractable horse in the group, even after the inmate takes his anger issues out on the mustang. However, it helps that he’s starting to work on that anger in group sessions with the prison psychologist (Connie Britton). In addition to gradually winning over his horse, Roman starts to respond to the companionship of the other inmates in the program, particularly friendly trick horse rider Henry (Jason Mitchell).

The sense of authenticity is aided bythe inclusion of men who have had experiences with horse training programs, including Native American Tom (Thomas Smittle, a consultant on the film) and the African American “Compton Cowboys,” as seen last year in Brett Fallentine’s documentary Fire on the Hill: The Cowboys Of South Central LA. Executive producer Robert Redford also brought in Utah horse trainers he’s worked with. Meanwhile, Myles the trainer keeps paternal watch over all of them.

Inside the jail, Roman is under many pressures. Dan tries to threaten him into smuggling the horse tranquilizer ketamine from the stable. He is used to physical confrontations, unlike the not-as-tough Henry, who is under the same duress. More difficult for Roman to handle are the emotional visits with his teenage daughter, Martha (Gideon Adlon). Each encounter reveals a bit more of his backstory, his crime, her relationship with him, and what he needs to work on. These revelations are not atypical for a movie prisoner, but Schoenaerts makes them intensely personal, helped by how Roman has bonded with the buckskin he names Marquis.

The public auction makes for a celebratory goal. While there are plot twists that don’t quite add up at the denouement, the concluding view of horse and scenery fondly reminded me of my childhood fixation on horses. It’s a beautiful view to be seen on the big screen.