Review of War Horse (2011) by Halfwelshman — 17 Jan 2012

I'd first like to make it clear that I haven't yet had the privilege oof seeing the acclaimed stage show War Horse, so I won't be comparing this film to that, but just judging it on its own terms. Spielberg's first foray into WWI is an unbelievably good looking film - hugely dramatic, sweeping wide shots make the very most out of the pretty Devon countryside as well as the hellish, war-torn battlefields.

War Horse doesn't lack heart-string-tugging drama either - the relationship between Albert (Jeremy Irvine) and his horse Joey is compelling from the very beginning of the film, and you really feel like you've gone on the same painful journey they have to find each other again.

Gravitas is added, and great performances given by a huge cast of British old-reliables and rising stars - in no particular order, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Emily Watson, David Thewlis and Eddie Marsan, plus reinforcement from international talent in the shape of Liam Cunningham and Niels Arestrup.

All the major players in the film make Richard Curtis and Lee Hall's already excellent script dazzle. A special mention should also be saved for Joey the horse, though he was played by numerous equine actors, he makes for a very engaging character - an achievement considering his ability to communicate with us is limited to pawing the ground and horsey facial expressions, so well done to the horse trainers.

The horses are arguably as important as the people in this story, just as it should be in a film with "horse" in the title. Spielberg quite rightly acknowledges the loss horrific loss of life, not only of "our brave boys" but of their steeds as well.

In one of the most powerful moments in the film, as a British cavalry charge into a German camp is torn to shreds by a line of machine guns concealed in the woods, the camera pulls out to reveal the battlefield absolutely covered with the lifeless bodies of horses.

The war element to the film remains shocking, even with a 12A certificate - there is very little blood shown, but the battles are still intense and gut-wrenching. One of Spielberg's many talents is the de-glamorisation of war - you really feel drained and shaken after being dragged over the top with the soldiers frantically dodging machine gun fire in no-man's land.

Because of the lower age classification, the Somme battle scene is intense, but not graphic, and I am hugely thankful for this, as if Spielberg had done a Saving Private Ryan with this sequence, it would have been unbearably horrific to watch.

At its heart, War Horse is a family epic, so expect melodrama aplenty. Also expect everyone speaking English in heavy accents rather than their native tongues (the most annoying aspect of the film) and a fairytale "happily ever after" at the end.

These are pretty minor issues - I don't mind a bit of soppyness now and again, and I guess Spielberg didn't want twelve year-olds losing interest when the foreigners started speaking, and who doesn't love a good old-fashioned Hollywood ending? When a film looks this good, with plenty of great performances, yet another fantastic John Williams score and several soon-to-be-iconic sequences (Joey running the length of no-man's land and the unexpectedly funny and poignant meeting between a German and a British soldier as they work together to free the aforementioned horse from barbed wire both stand out in particular) there's a lot to love about War Horse.

It's not quite the classic it might have been, but it's a great, well-meaning family film which shows Steven Spielberg is back on form.