Sometimes a good old fashioned romance film is what the doctor ordered. And who is better to deliver it than a man who, once upon a time, became the biggest Hollywood star by playing lead roles in exactly that sort of films? Robert Redford did such feat with by directing and starring in 1998 film The Horse Whisperer, one of the biggest hits in the latter stages of his career.
The plot is based on the best-selling novel by Nicholas Evans. It begins in upstate New York, when two teenage girls from upper middle class families – Grace MacLean (played by Scarlett Johansson) and her best friend Judith (played by Kate Bosworth) – indulge of favourite past time of riding their horses Pilgrim and Gulliver. The ride ends with terrible accident that would claim lives of Judith and Gulliver, with Grace losing part of her leg and Pilgrim being terribly injured. Grace’s mother Annie (played by Kristin Scott Thomas), successful news editor, is for the first time faced with the problem she can’t solve – her daughter’s depression. She becomes convinced that Grace can heal her psychological wounds only if Pilgrim, who became uncontrollable due to trauma, does the same. While everyone suggests that Pilgrim should be put down, she hears stories about Tom Booker (played by Redford), Montana rancher with legendary ability to handle traumatised horses and nickname “Horse Whisperer”. She travels to his ranch together with Pilgrim and Grace where she finds Tom to be a simple man, but with genuine talent. As the long and arduous healing process is going on, Tom and Annie, despite their different backgrounds, discover romantic feelings towards each other.
At first glance, The Horse Whisperer had all the characteristics of a generic and usually forgettable Hollywood tearjerker. Script by Richard LaGravenese and Eric Roth uses almost all cliches of the genre. Redford casting himself as romantic lead despite being in early sixties points at The Horse Whisperer as something of a vanity project. Even the semi-mystique concept of “horse whispering” looks like another Hollywood’s attempt to sell something that looks like fashionable New Age idea. The length of nearly three hours looks excessive and an attempt to make the film more epic than it should really be. Yet, despite all that, the film actually works. This is mostly due to Redford being able not only use some impressive behind-the-camera skills but actually act like a proper leading man. Redford seems comfortable with his age and plays Tom as simple, believable and very likeable character. The rest of the cast is very good, including veterans like Chris Cooper and Dianne Wiest in the roles of Tom’s extended family. But the true discovery is young Scarlett Johansson in one of her earliest roles, during which displays talent that would serve her well in 21st Century.
Redford, who found his niche as one of Hollywood’s most sincere and passionate environmentalist, also uses excellent cinematography by Robert Richardson to fill the film with shots of great natural beauty in Montana. This creates sharp contrast between simple rural idyll and the cold business-like world of New York City and helps a lot with setting the proper atmosphere and underline the basic themes of the film. Redford also displayed great skills in scenes involving horsemanship, with six different animals playing the role of Pilgrim without audience noticing it. Although The Horse Whisperer lacks villains and doesn’t feature clear dramatic conflict, Redford keeps it interesting for the audience. As a result, this film is one of the rare Hollywood products that targets viewers’ emotions without insulting their intelligence. Although it could have been much shorter, The Horse Whisperer is a very good piece of cinema that should be recommended, if not for anything else than for strictly therapeutic reasons.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
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