The Horsewhisperer

A movie by Robert Redford

With Kristin Scott Thomas, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sam Neill and others

Monika says:

Thirteen-year-old Grace (Scarlett Johanson) has a severe riding accident that leaves her and her horse Pilgrim badly injured. She looses a leg and has to watch as her best friend is killed by a truck. The emotional trauma makes her withdraw from everyone. Pilgrim who miraculously survived the accident becomes vicious and won’t allow anybody near him, not even Grace. In this tangled situation Grace’s mother Annie decides to consult a so-called horse whisperer she read about in a magazine. Since she can’t persuade him to come to New York to look at the horse she packs up horse and daughter and goes to Montana to settle the matter. Apparently Tom Booker (Robert Redford) isn’t just good with horses...

Hard to believe: this movie actually tells a story, and what’s more, it has a beginning and an ending. Those of you with higher artistic aspirations should consider all the plot- and content-free movies the audience had to endure this year. The HORSE WHISPERER may not be perfect (but what movie is?) but for the viewers willing to sit through the two-and-a-half-hour epic it has a lot to offer. The first two acts, sort of an introduction, have a different format than the rest of the movie (1.85:1), so that you suspect somebody isn’t able to work the projector properly. The rest of the movie was shot in 2.35:1, probably to show the landscape to advantage.

The breathtakingly beautiful setting of the Rocky Mountains is the HORSE WHISPERER’s biggest asset, but the actors do a good job as well and in spite of the length of the movie there are no boring moments. Some may find the story overly sentimental, and if you’re likely to cry in that kind of movie be sure to bring plenty of Kleenex.

One annoying fact is the difference in the ages of the male and female lead. Hard to believe that Annie MacLean has an affair with a guy old enough to be her father when you consider her attractive husband Robert (Sam Neill). Robert Redford is a good director, but no longer the juvenile lead and charmer. Maybe he should have left the part of Tom Booker to some younger actor and saved the credibility of this part of the story. Scarlett Johansson turned in a very good performance depicting the highs and lows of Grace’s recuperation process.

No masterpiece, but a touching movie. Worth watching not only for people who like horses.

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Monika Hübner