The Horse Whisperer
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Movie Reviews of The Horse Whisperer
Movie Review: Moving and inspiring!
Summary: 5 Stars
An extremely moving blend of visual imagery and a compelling story of strength, love and realizations, "The Horse Whisperer" brings to life one of the bext novels ever written, while also giving the audience a movie that sets a new standard for emotion and feeling. It's a film that makes us laugh and a cry, a movie that depresses us as well as gives us an uplifting sense of wonder and awe. This has got to be one of the best movies ever made. When her daughter Grace is critically injured while riding her horse, her business-oriented parents go through the painful decision of having her legs removed, which comes as a shock to Grace when she awakens from her coma. What's more, the horse is left with severe physical and emotional scars, none of which anyone can or knows how to heal. Even as the horse becomes increasingly distant and violent when approached by a human, Grace's mother, Annie, refuses to allow the animal to be put down, and begins researching methods and techniques of horse recuperation. When she comes across a magazine article about "horse whisperers," she makes a call to the man interviewed in the article, Tom Booker, who is unable to help her.
While shown in theaters, up until this moment of the movie, the film is shown in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, which is to reflect the cramped, noisy lifestyle that Annie lives in. Determined to find a cure for her daughter's horse as well as to mend their dwindling relationship, she packs the horse and her crippled daughter into their car and takes them on a road trip to Montana, where the film then takes on the aspect ratio of 2.35:1, allowing us to enjoy the full splendor of the surrounding hills and mountains. When they reach their destination, Tom agrees to help her so long as Grace is willing to offer her help. Willing the horse back to its normal attitude proves to be no easy task, though Tom has extreme patience in dealing with the animal. As the progress begins to grow, so does the bond between Annie and Tom, as well as the relationship between mother and daughter. But will Annie's and Tom's differences keep them apart? And what about her husband, who is waiting for results back in the city?
The movie takes its time in exploring its plot, giving us nothing but meticulous detail in every nuance of the story. There is never a moment throughout the movie when we do not know what kind of feelings each character is going through, nor are we left in the dark when something intrical to the advancement of the plot occurs. While it may look as simple as the country life it portrays, the story is utterly complex and moving, finely tuned with emotion and themes of love, sadness, and natural beauty.
The extensive visual imagery and settings are so gorgeous and so large that some of the shots almost swallow the characters. The beauty of the mountain ranges and low-lying valleys of Montana and the Midwest are so satisfying that they alone are worth going to see the movie if for nothing else. They also act as a symbolization of the characters' feelings, because throughout the movie, most of the characters at some time feel lost and confused, which is underlined by the vast amounts of open space that surrounds them all. I don't think there has ever been a film so far that has been able to give us such a wondrous canvas of natural beauty like this one has done.
Character development is done with such terrific clarity that I was able to identify emotionally with different characters on different levels. Tom Booker is played superbly by Robert Redford, and is the embodiment of the simplistic, easy-going rancher who is not satisfied with material possessions, but more with the joy he gets from his family and his work. Annie is played by Kristin Scott Thomas, who delivers a powerful and complex performance in making us believe in her struggles with her daughter and the horse. The love story angle that Annie and Tom share is a moving and brilliant emotional display, and what is even better about it is that it does not become so overly-engrossing that is consumes the main focus of the story, which is the horse's recovery.
As "The Horse Whisperer" unfolds, you'll find yourself moved by every waking minute of its complex plot and involving characters. The core of this movie is nothing but heart, and lots of it, which is enough for a tear-jerker as well as a truly uplifting experience.
Movie Review: Voyage into the psyche of horses
Summary: 5 Stars
A very fine film, maybe a little bit slow at times due to the desire to capture the very special rhythm of Montana. The story of a New York girl and her horse taken up in the trauma of an accident. The horse has become wild and the girl has lost a leg and finds it difficult to cope, what's more she culpabilizes the accident and the sore fate of the horse. So far nothing special. The mother is a magazine editor and she decides to take the situation in her own hands and to look for help from a rancher in Montana who is known as having very special contact with horses. He is the horse whisperer. In other words he is a horse psychologist. She drops her responsibilities and drives there with the horse and her daughter. It is then the story of the recovery of the horse and of the girl in the hands of that man. Patience, contact, even when necessary some force on the horse and some authority on the girl. The mother and the daughter integrate the ranch and discover a completely different life and rhythm : to live in nature, with animals and raise them. We try to forget that it is only to produce meat. The scenery is grandiose and the absence of any distraction makes the mother and the daughter concentrate on themselves, and regenerate their life energy. Just this adventure is strong anough to be fascinating. It also reveals that these ranchers, who are extremely satisfied in this life, have a past experience of the city (Chicago for instance), of cultural entertainments (classical music for instance) and are not completely cut off from life due to television. But this life also provides children with early activities and responsibilities and makes them grow a lot faster, not so much in their bodies but in their minds and psyches. They are able to cope with life at the age of twelve. This is an amazing education that has to be contrasted with the childish and infantilizing education we provide most kids in our schools. Of course a love, not affair, but adventure develops between the mother and the horse whisperer : change, a completely new universe, the discovery of feelings that are of a new nature. The attitudes of these two and the father that rejoins them at the end are surprising in many ways : the freedom granted by the father to his wife, the responsibility of the mother who will in the end return to New York, and the deepfelt passion of the mother and the horse whisperer that will be dominated and kept human and humane, a passion of the soul which will make it a lot more difficult to break, and yet which will remain totally controled by the mind. No abandon, no reckless delving into it, just accepting it and keeping it within the limits of a humane vision which takes into accounts the interest of others and not only the selfish desires of the lovers. Love becomes then a mental and cultural blending of feelings and experiences. It can be brought to an end but it will always live and survive. The film is extremely moral in a way and tries to show that natural living conditions do not produce uncensored impulses, far from it. To go back to nature builds a deeper moral and ethical approach to life. Some will say that is a myth. Right they are. Some will say that is a dream. Right they are. Some will say that is an illusion. Right they are. But it is something that does exist and that shows human beings are definitely not animals.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Movie Review: The Lost Complexities of this Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This is conceivably my favorite movie of all time, and definitely my favorite soundtrack. There is so much more to this film than I've seen anyone write. Sure it's a romance, horse, child loving horse, injured child (mentally and physically), horsey guy, etc. and whatever else you've read about this movie. But what I'll attempt to write here is what you're not going to see anywhere else.
My personal favorite dynamic in human to human or human to animal relationships is the garnering of trust. And someone, or both, having that intuition to be such that they earn that trust. This is what you have in this movie. Some spoilers may be involved here...
Kristen Scott Thomas' character is ill - on the fast track professionally and away from a quality marriage. Some might call that success and indeed her character was so caught up in her life that she probably thought she was doing fine. Scarlette Johannson's character is ill as well - both physically and mentally from the accident and from a lack of true connection to her parents, especially her mother. The horse is, well, broken - physically, of course, but traumatized from the accident.
These three come to beautiful, clean and pristine (but not over-the-top gorgeous - as I've heard Redford say that he wanted the landscape to speak for itself -intrinsic beauty - not from the photography making it beautiful - paraphrased here) country and they meet Robert Redford's character. He is so peacefully understanding of what these other three are about - he takes stock of the mother (all New York of her), the horse (traumatized) and the girl (resistent and hurting). He presents himself in such a way that he is totally non-threatening and they all, on their own levels, come to trust him...and they heal.
It is a movie about trust. There are prices to pay for that trust, for sure. Redford's character opens up in a way he never thought he would again but I like how this director ended the movie rather than how the book ended. The book ending made no sense in the context of who the character was so I appreciate that Redford changed it. The mother pays a price for sure....the horse and the girl...well, they're healed and all is right with their world..
There are many levels on which to watch this movie - the photography is gorgeous, the horses, the way of life - all beautiful....the music, well, gorgeous and grandiose in parts....the characters multi-level....The husband (Sam Neill)is intelligent and shows he has a good understanding of how his marriage is and the changes his wife has gone through while with Redford. It's a tear-jerker for sure - I don't think as many times as I've watched this movie, that I haven't been crying at the end. But I hate to see it end....Enjoy this movie - I envy you the first time.
Movie Review: Brilliant visual artistry
Summary: 5 Stars
Many have already addressed the plot of this film, so I will not not go into detail. However, I feel compelled to touch upon the visual storytelling in this film.
Movies are first and foremost imagery. As many legendary filmmakers have said, a good film can be watched with the sound turned off and still communicate every bit of the story and emotion through the images alone. This includes cinematography but goes light years beyond lighting and framing a scene. Each shot must be planned and designed, from sets to props to location scouting, from blocking the actors' movements to using color and shapes, textures, and spatial relationships. All these must communicate the text and subtext simultaneously.
I said all that to say this: Redford and his team blew me away with "The Horse Whisperer." The first act alone is filled with enough information in every corner of the screen to chew on for days. One example among dozens is the use of symmetry, parallel lines, and perpendicularity in the city scenes - even in the arrangement of books in the background, pens on a desk, or the window blinds in a hospital - to convey the superficially ordered control of Anne's life. This is contrasted with the organic sweeping curves of the farm landscapes where Grace's accident occurs. The confined spaces and straight streets of New York are gradually and gracefully replaced with the curves of the highways as Anne drives west until she reaches the Rockies in all their chaotically ingenious immensity.
And apart from all this, I was also deeply effected emotionally by this movie. Yes, it takes its time telling the story. But such stories in our own lives take time to unfold. And real, subtle moments deserve as much time to play out as they need. Grace's recovery from the death of her friend and the injuries to the body and spirit of herself and her faithful horse Pilgrim are also expertly crafted. It has personal resonance in my family because we faced many of the same trials and frustrations when my wife was injured by a tornado a year after we married. She was touched and encouraged by this film.
Thomas Newman's score is his masterwork. It brought me to tears during the end credits.
Grace is also perfectly portrayed by the then-unknown Scarlett Johansson. Most people seem to forget she was in "The Horse Whisperer," but I will always associate this film with Scarlett and her with it.
Movie Review: Great Acting, Sensational Scenery and a Worthy story
Summary: 5 Stars
Almost from the first scene there is enormous tension in this movie. The smashed innocence of youth, the imperious maneuvering of an overbearing mother/executive - executive/mother, and the seemingly willing doormat of a husband are all played against the shadow of a horribly injured horse, which for a time are the only wounds the players really acknowledge. It's easy to get involved in the plight of Pilgrim, the horse, but as the story progresses, it becomes clear that the horse's injuries are small potatoes compared to the injuries shouldered and nurtured by Scott Thomas (the mother) and her daughter - as well as Redford (the Whisperer), although I didn't piece that together until I'd watched it a second time.Redford and Scott Thomas are at the top of their game (I'm not much of a Redford fan and I'm only beginning to appreciate what a gem Scott Thomas is), and although Horse Whisperer subtly leads the viewer astray for a time, deliberately focusing on the injuries to the horse and the daughter, about 45min in to the movie you can sense real intrigue developing between Redford and Scott Thomas. Redford plays the strong, semi-silent Marlboro man (masking his own injuries behind a thick veneer of quiet competence), and Scott Thomas transports her restless world of conference-calls, cell phones, fax machines and overworked anxiety to the Big Sky meadows of Montana. It takes days, weeks, for her to recognize the incongruity; however, eventually the recognizes the quiet value hidden in ranch life, and when she does, Scott Thomas sheds her urban values in a rush - for a time.
I've enjoyed this movie several times - one of the few times I agree with the professional critics. Super! A must watch. Not really a "feel good" movie, but Horse Whisperer is a thoughtful "reality check" that leaves the viewer (or at least me), playing all sorts of woulda, coulda, shoulda mind games.