The Horse Whisperer (DVD)

.../> RELEASE DATE : May 1998 in the US
RUN TIME: 169 mins
RATED : PG-13

GENRE : SENTIMENTAL DRAMA/ROMANCE

BASED ON THE NOVEL BY NICHOLAS EVANS

I am an incurable horse lover, and an incurable romantic - what a combination!! Obviously, when I heard about this film I just had to see it!

True Horse Whispering is an art. There should be no doubt about that. Spanning hundreds and ...
...

On the one hand intimidation, pain and fear are the tools which have been used to tame and sometimes maim these wonderful animals. Browbeaten, used and abused, many beautiful creatures have died in the road or under their riders hands and in their care.

On the other hand there are those rare human beings who just seem to know how to handle these huge animals whom, if they got the chance to understand how much bigger ... more

CAST:

TOM BOOKER : ROBERT REDFORD
ANNIE MACLEAN : KRISTEN SCOTT THOMAS
GRACE MACLEAN : SCATLETT JOHANSSON
ROBERT MACLEAN : SAM NEILL
DIANE BOOKER : DIANNE WEST
PILGRIM : PLAYED BY SIX DIFFERENT TALENTED HORSES

DIRECTED BY : ROBERT REDFORD

WRITTEN BY : ERIC ROTH (Forrest Gump)& RICHARD LAGRAVENESE (A Little Princess)

RELEASE DATE : May 1998 in the US
RUN TIME: 169 mins
RATED : PG-13

GENRE : SENTIMENTAL DRAMA/ROMANCE

BASED ON THE NOVEL BY NICHOLAS EVANS

I am an incurable horse lover, and an incurable romantic - what a combination!! Obviously, when I heard about this film I just had to see it!

True Horse Whispering is an art. There should be no doubt about that. Spanning hundreds and hundreds of years humankind has displayed two distinct extremes in their relationship with horses.

On the one hand intimidation, pain and fear are the tools which have been used to tame and sometimes maim these wonderful animals. Browbeaten, used and abused, many beautiful creatures have died in the road or under their riders hands and in their care.

On the other hand there are those rare human beings who just seem to know how to handle these huge animals whom, if they got the chance to understand how much bigger and stronger they are than us, could easily mash us into a pulp. These people know what a horse needs, how a horse reacts.

The best-selling book The Horse Whisperer, was written by an Englishman, Nicholas Evans, in 1995 and was, surprisingly, critically disparaged. He got the idea for the story from a Blacksmith, who told him about a man who had calmed a pony using unusual techniques. Many thought, on reading the book, that this would make a good film.

The film, a visually stunning romantic drama, directed by Robert Redford, has a good story-line, and is about a man of great patience, faced with a woman, a child and a horse in great need of it. Annie MacLean is a New York editor, a brittle workaholic with a hyper personality, and is married to Robert MacLean, a Lawyer.

It involves 14 year old Grace MacLean. Whilst out riding on her horse Pilgrim, in a lightly forested area on an icy road, she is involved in a horrendous accident with a truck. Her best friend is fatally injured and both Grace and her horse are injured both physically and emotionally. Part of Grace’s leg has to be amputated. This horrific accident scene is the reason for the PG-13 rating.

The local vet wants to destroy Pilgrim. Grace’s mother, Annie MacLean, tries to find help for the horse, and thereby her daughter also, as she realises that the future well-being of one depends on the successful recovery of the other. Grace feels sorry for herself and hates her mother's controlling ways. They have a fractious relationship. There are degrees of selfishness on both sides and strong egos at work here. Grace suffers guilt and shame, which manifests itself in her bitterness towards her parents. She makes Pilgrim’s fate a grim portent of her own future. He is scarred, maddened, and kept in a dark and lonely place.

Grace has lost two friends. One has died, and the other, her horse, she fears will never be the same again. Annie, in an effort to find some solution to the "problem" her daughter presents, hears about Tom Booker, Horse Whisperer. She telephones him where he is unhelpful. She says to him "I hear you help people with horse problems", and he replies "actually ma’am, I help horses with people problems". Tom Booker turns Annie down on the phone, but in her usual businesslike manner, she refuses to accept. "Am I being too polite here?" he asks. "Does ‘no’ in Montana mean ‘yes’ where you are?".

Annie decides to drive the horse and a reluctant Grace to the high Montana plains, and confront him directly to get him to help.

The trip gives Oscar winning cinematographer, Robert Richardson (JFK) a chance to dazzle the audience with his work. Apart from the sweeping vistas, look out for the intricate raindrops on the windscreen.

Here in Montana the two families of MacLean and Baker reside together whilst the healing process of horse and rider is undertaken. Tom Booker’s cheerful sister-in-law is a contrast to Annie. One is plump, the other thin. One is contented, one is a hyper-active control freak. One is cheerful, the other is cold.

Tom Baker doesn’t act the way Annie expects - as a paid specialist! He sees that Grace needs help and healing just as much as the horse. Grace feels that no-one will ever want her with one leg. Some of the best scenes involve Tom’s gentle touch with Grace. He is insistent that Pilgrim will be ridden again and that Grace will ride him. He handles her with kindness and respect.

So far as Pilgrim is concerned, Tom locks eyes with him and doesn’t flinch as the hours drag on and the day fades into night. Of course he wins.

Annie’s personality undertakes a transformation, and eventually Tom and Annie fall in love. Tom has previously been hurt in love, and he at first shies away from Annie’s advances. Annie has a married woman’s love for a man who appears to represent freedom.

Annie feels compelled to leave her husband and stay on the ranch with Tom. She has fallen under the spell of the West and gets fired from her job. Tom sees in her what he thinks he needs in a woman - what he saw in his wife before she left him.

Tom says to Annie "This is me, this is where I belong", as he looks around the ranch. "Could you live here?". "Yes" says Annie, she could. Annie asks him how he knew that his ex-wife was wrong for him, and he replies "Knowing it is the easy part. Saying it out loud is the hard part".

Towards the end of the film, Grace’s father makes an appearance. He turns out to be a person of insight and intelligence, and his confession to his wife is far more touching than anything Tom says to her.

The soundtrack in this film is very good, and it is all about city vs. country, and responsibility vs. passion. It moves a little slowly, although it manages to convey deeply felt and complex emotions without shouting or profanity, which I must admit is a nice change these days. There are some occasional touches of humour in the script.

The Character of Tom Booker is based on a real life Horse Whisperer, FRANK BELL, who holds clinics around the US showcasing his techniques, as well as offering intensive sessions at his Colorado ranch. You can read about him at www.horsewhisperer.com.

I know some people absolutely adored this film, and I did enjoy it on the whole, however there were some areas with which I was dissatisfied.

Firstly, I wasn’t keen on Robert Redford in the role of Tom Booker (sorry girls!). Whilst his acting in the character was good, I am afraid that he just didn’t hit the spot for me as the heart throb. I am just not a Redford fan.

Secondly, I just didn’t like the character of Annie. I couldn’t see how any man would fall in love with such a controlling person as she. Although Annie appeared to be well meant in her determination not to allow her daughter to sink into despair after losing her leg in the accident, I just do not feel this person was cut out to be a mother! She is too self absorbed and cold. Basically, she appears to be leaning towards control rather than concern, and I was left wondering whether she was helping her daughter, or in fact trying to get her to regain her independence so that she (Annie) could get on with her life!.

I hated the parts where Pilgrim was completely tied up. This is not the kind of horse whispering that I am familiar with. However, I must admit that whilst I am interested in this kind of training, I am not an authority on it - maybe this does happen somewhere along the line?

To my mind however, Horse Whispering or as it is also known, Natural Horsemanship or Resistance-Free Training should be, in its purest form, the understanding of the horse’s natural instincts and body language. It is communicating with the horse in its own language so that it willingly performs that which its handler wishes without the use of force or cruelty.

These points, I am afraid, led me to disbelieve the plot in some respects..

I began watching this film thinking it was going to be about a man’s relationship with a horse. Unfortunately the title of the film seemed to get lost in a deluge of human feelings and emotions. I was a little disappointed by this.
 

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