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THE HORSE WHISPERER
This can be characterized as a "nice" romantic, family film. With the exception of one frightening, traumatic scene the film makes for pleasant watching. Nothing, after the accident with the horse, is designed to excite. Beautiful photography of wide open spaces in Montana makes the film easy going.
14-year-old Grace MacLean (Scarlett Johansson) is involved in an accident while riding her horse. Her friend is killed and she loses part of her leg. This leads to depression. This trauma affects not only Grace but the horse also has a change of behavior and will not allow anyone to approach him Grace's mother, Annie (Kristin Scott Thomas), a dynamic always-on-the-go magazine editor is mobilized into action to help her daughter. This is not as easy as it would seem as she and her husband Robert (Sam Neill) are not very close and daughter Annie is not overly fond of her mother either.
When Annie hears there is a man who treats horses (A horse whisperer), she decides she will leave her husband at home while she and Grace travel to the Montana ranch where the man is said to work his wonders. That man is Tom Booker (Robert Redford). Before the horse is made rid of his trauma, a romance springs up between Tom and Annie and life on a ranch in Montana.
What I found difficult to swallow was Redford's portrayal of life in Montana. Every resident on the ranch appeared to be the happiest person in the world. No thought of drugs for the kids; how could they, busy as they were branding cattle, mending fences, up early each morning, big smile on their faces. Diane Booker, (Dianne Wiest) Tom's sister, despite all her cooking and other ranch chores, is supremely happy, as is everyone at the table come chow time. In the evening, how about some square dancing and again all smiles. All those smiles made me a bit uneasy. But if you are looking for a pleasant film, this is it.
Directed by Robert Redford.
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Copyright 1998 Ben Hoffman
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