THE HORSE WHISPERER (1998) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge
Director: Robert Redford Writers: Eric Roth and Richard LaGravenese (based on the novel by Nicholas Evans) Starring: Kristen Scott Thomas, Robert Redford, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Neill, Diane Wiest, Chris Cooper, Cherry Jones, Catherine Bosworth
"The Horse Whisperer" is essentially a soap opera, but the best thing to do with these kinds of stories is to either: a) run with that (as if it's really a flaw); and b) run with whilst picking out some true depth in the story, and maybe, if you're at it, say something about humanity. This film opts for the latter.
"The Horse Whisperer" deals with many subjects and themes, such as the comparisons between man and animals, the subject of pain (physical and psychological), and the concept of looking at things as ideas. The fact that it pulls all of these from a melodramatic storyline is something to be applauded and revered. The story revolves around the results of an accident that takes place in the beginning where two young teenage girls, Judith and Grace (Catherine Bosworth and Scarlett Johannsson, respectively), end up screwing up while riding their respective horses, all ending in a truck running over one of them and the other only just surviving. Judith is the one who dies, and Grace ends up loosing part of her right leg.
Her horse, on the other hand, ends up just a little scarred, and very crazy, so crazy that everyone is talking about killing it to end the pain. However, Grace's psychological trauma afterwards is so bad that it ends up distancing her already dysfunctional family, consisting of lawyer dad Robert (Sam Neill), and uptight magazine editor mom Annie (Kristen Scott Thomas, glowing after her Oscar nomination last year). Annie, fearing she will lose her daughter completely, decides to hike out to Montana with her (Robert has to work, of course) to a horse doctor...or "horse whisperer," as a magazine calls him...named Tom Booker (Robert Redford himself, marking his first starring role in a movie he directed).
Although reluctant at first, Booker ends up helping the horse over a long period of time, or so it seems. What is horse whispering? I'm not entirely sure, but what I saw pretty much consisted of staring at the horse, and making slow movements until the horse become comfortable with you. It so intrigued me that I decided to do this on my dog. She attacked me. Guess you have to an aging Robert Redford to do it.
All the while, Booker begins to aide the two women psychologically. He helps Grace overcome her trauma, and causes her to relax and be able to overcome the fact that she's missing a major body part. Watching Redford help her makes up some of the best scenes in the film, and when she finally is able to smile and interact with people again, it's one of the film's happiest moments. Of course, he also helps Annie a bit as well, helping her relax in the country (as opposed to the city), and to also rekindle her romantic life once again. Of course, these scenes lack the luster of the scene with Grace, but they still work overall.
As the film goes on, it raises interesting questions about pain and accidents, and how people tend to complicate their own lives with things that they shouldn't really be worrying about but do anyway. It does this by showing a sorta "City Slickers"-esque clash about how city life makes people worry more, while country life makes them relax and eventually enjoy life, primarily because it's so simple. It shows how people create problems for themselves and often get to worked up about how they feel that when they finally open up to others, it's a very therapeutic experience. It seems to be saying that there's always going to be pain over something; it's just how you handle it.
Another very intriguing and intelligent concept it brings up, and one that is so subtlely handled that it's easy to miss (I believe Roger Ebert clued me into this one, thank you), is how we often get worked up by the idea of something instead of the actual thing. The film is an exercise in this idea: it just seems to relish in the fact that it's taking place in the beautiful state that is Montana, and often lingers in its gorgeousity. Photographed by Robert Richardson (a staple of Oliver Stone's), every shot in Montana is a beautiful one that just NEEDS to be seen on the big screen, just because it's almost like being there.
By the way it's shot and directed, it's easy to see how people can spend their entire lives in the country. The film never tells us about time or how long they've been there (could have been weeks), and that was a smart thing to do because you could probably lay down on the porch one day just to look at the country, and when you've gotten up, you're 80. You can understand how Annie's character becomes so infatuated with living there, and when Tom shows interest in her romantically, you probably are as duped as she is: she's not really in love with him; she's in love with the idea of him (as he is of her: his ex-wife was a city-person who didn't like the country, so she's like a second chance for him).
As full of depth and beautiful as "The Horse Whisperer" is, the main thing that makes it so great is its ability to just take what it is and run with it. The film is beautifully directed by Redford, who may not have deserved an Oscar for his direction of "Ordinary People"...lemme correct that: he DIDN'T deserve it (remember, Scorsese directed "Raging Bull" that year?), but still shows himself as a wonderful director, one who sets up beautiful shots, and has the ability to take his good old time telling the story (the film runs around 160 minutes or so...plus previews), but still never bores you. And the fact that he lets the deep parts of the story stay as depth and doesn't bring them to the surface is just how you make a good movie, goddamit.
MY RATING (out of 4): ***1/2
Homepage at: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/8335/
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