Review of The Horse Whisperer (1998) by Patrick L — 01 Feb 2013

Having been a fan of Heartland since I first started watching it (5 seasons worth of shows), a show about a "horse whisperer", I finally got to this film just now and the dvd just jumps into the movie - there is a warning on the dvd box but I hadn't remembered it - and after some happy scenes of two young girls laughing about lives, riding horses, all of a sudden we're seeing them have trouble with ascending a hillside and then disaster - a horrible disaster involving the horses, the girls and a tractor trailer on a snowy (icy?) road with the truck "jack-knifing" and the horrible after effects!

I couldn't help but think "I hate this!" and put the dvd on pause before coming to this site to start a review. I realize that they did the film so that horses weren't hurt or killed (right?) but I feel horrified at the visual horror they felt they had to depict in this film and that is what I hate about Hollywood and films that they always push the boundaries and often leave nothing to the imagination! I hate it, I hate it!!!

(Typing this the next morning):

I went back to the film, on my laptop, and it started off from a scene I had already seen so I saw the whole accident scene all over again. The film is good in showing the rehabilitation process and the mom and daughter re-bonding and bonding with the whisperer and his family but I feel a false note was struck in how the mom and the whisperer dealt with their "forbidden feelings" for one another.

Redford is great and to an extent Kristin is good in their respective roles but Hollywood always shows feelings and sexuality overwhelming people's good sense and morality (yes, it does happen but Hollywood seems to "glorify" it). The supporting cast is great and we see scenes of family, of a party, of working the ranch, trying to help the horse overcome its trauma etc.

Ultimately the two potential lovers don't have sex, thankfully as that would cheapen the film, but the husband is somehow aware that something is amiss (when he arrives for a visit) then there is the awkward parting scene between the mom and the whisperer before she leaves (she waiting a long time for him etc.) then she lies to him about going for a ride, takes off while he is preparing the horses and he, when he realizes that, chuckles!

One funny thing, I noticed at one point that the young girl resembled Scarlett Johansson, well of course, she is in the film - I guess this was early on in her career. I'm glad that I finally watched the film but I greatly prefer "Heartland" as a production about horse and horse healing as it is more "human" than this production.