The Horse Whisperer (1998)
While I’ve always maintained that Robert Redford was born to play Jay Gatsby, his role in The Horse Whisperer is probably the best representation of his persona we all know and love. He’s a rancher who loves nature and helps heal wounded horses. Is there a more suitable film for the voice of the National Resources Defense Council and the creator of Sundance?
A fourteen-year-old Scarlett Johansson stars as a teen girl who, following a tragic horseback riding accident, loses all hope and light in her life. Her parents, Sam Neill and Kristin Scott Thomas, handle the aftermath differently, and her go-getter mom contacts the famous “horse whisperer” doctor to help heal Scarlett’s horse. Robert Redford is the title character, and when he refuses to come to New York, Kristin packs up her daughter and the horse and drives to his ranch in Montana.
Filmed in the natural beauty of Montana, the audience can’t help but fall in love with the exquisite animals and scenery—and Robert Redford. He directs this movie as well as stars in it, and his slow, sensitive directorial touch is so perfect for this story. I can’t imagine another director treating the script with such love. It’s not a fast-paced horseback riding film; it’s a filmed healing process. Anyone who’s ever experienced a physical or emotional hurt knows the healing process takes time and effort, and even the smallest gesture, like turning off the stove to show you’re really listening, can help.
The acting in The Horse Whisperer is pretty fantastic. Anyone who sees Scarlett’s incredible talent in this film will not understand why she’s stuck making comic book movies now. While Kristin Scott Thomas is very convincing as a Type-A, controlling, cold career woman, she is by far my worst part of the movie. She’s unlikable, from beginning to end. One could argue that her character is supposed to be unlikable, but I disagree. Had Emma Thompson been cast in the role, she would have been controlling and driven, but she also would have had an underlying warmth. You would have sensed that even though she’s doing or saying something wrong, she has good intentions. Kristin’s entire aura is repellant, and because of this casting error, part of the plot is entirely unbelievable.
A fourteen-year-old Scarlett Johansson stars as a teen girl who, following a tragic horseback riding accident, loses all hope and light in her life. Her parents, Sam Neill and Kristin Scott Thomas, handle the aftermath differently, and her go-getter mom contacts the famous “horse whisperer” doctor to help heal Scarlett’s horse. Robert Redford is the title character, and when he refuses to come to New York, Kristin packs up her daughter and the horse and drives to his ranch in Montana.
Filmed in the natural beauty of Montana, the audience can’t help but fall in love with the exquisite animals and scenery—and Robert Redford. He directs this movie as well as stars in it, and his slow, sensitive directorial touch is so perfect for this story. I can’t imagine another director treating the script with such love. It’s not a fast-paced horseback riding film; it’s a filmed healing process. Anyone who’s ever experienced a physical or emotional hurt knows the healing process takes time and effort, and even the smallest gesture, like turning off the stove to show you’re really listening, can help.
The acting in The Horse Whisperer is pretty fantastic. Anyone who sees Scarlett’s incredible talent in this film will not understand why she’s stuck making comic book movies now. While Kristin Scott Thomas is very convincing as a Type-A, controlling, cold career woman, she is by far my worst part of the movie. She’s unlikable, from beginning to end. One could argue that her character is supposed to be unlikable, but I disagree. Had Emma Thompson been cast in the role, she would have been controlling and driven, but she also would have had an underlying warmth. You would have sensed that even though she’s doing or saying something wrong, she has good intentions. Kristin’s entire aura is repellant, and because of this casting error, part of the plot is entirely unbelievable.
There are many great reasons to watch The Horse Whisperer--one of which is how sweet Robert Redford and Scarlett Johansson are together, as you can see from this backstage photo--and one last compliment I’ll bestow is to Thomas Newman’s beautiful, memorable score. The most important element to a score is that the audience really feels what’s going on in the movie when they listen to the music. When you hear Thomas Newman’s music, you feel the injured horse slowly healing and learning to trust again.
More Robert Redford movies here!
More Robert Redford movies here!