The Horse Whisperer (1998)

How sad is this?

A Major Disappointment

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse. The biggest problem with The Horse Whisperer to me at least was definitely the runtime i mean the film is 170 minutes and even tho i appreciate it for developing things in detail both in terms of it's plot and it's character development and situations, the film could have been told in somewhere around 120 to 125 minutes right? Also i didn't like the fact that Sam Neill's character was almost forgettable at times and takes half of the film to show up again. But even with it's problems the 3 leading perfomances from Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas and a Young Scarlett Johansson were brillaint and the best part of the film especially Johansson who proves that she can do more than just Avengers and Ghost in the Shell. The cinematography and the overall direction from Redford is amazing and the rest of the supporting cast also does a good job in their specific parts, overall The Horse Whisperer does have it's fair share of problems but it's still an enjoyable drama with the best intentions both in mind, spirit and paper. (7.5/10)

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.There are many great reasons to watch The Horse Whisperer, 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.

This is the worse movie ever made. A contrived and convoluted story line with romance chocolate pudding with peanuts and corn written all over it. The girl almost gets the horse killed. They go to the horse whisperer who starts having an affair with the mother, who is a real malcontent bitch. The Husband conveniently seems like a real dork for plot convenience. The affair is quite a shameless one filled with excuses. The Horse whisperer lets the girl off the hook absolving her of responsibility for getting the horse hurt. Nothing mystical about this movie. A romance trash novel put to screen. It is enough make a rational person go into projectile vomiting.

A good movie, however the real story here is about the comeback of the characters, such as Grace (Scarlett Johansson). There are great moments in the film such as where Grace has again ridden a horse (sort of in secret for the first time since the accident). And Grace later tells her mother: 'nobody's ever gonna love me like this' - never fails to tear me up. It's because she referring to ALL her injuries: inclusive of her physical, mental, and emotional state - which may be finally beginning to heal with the help of 'life' on this wonderfully beautiful cattle ranch. Another one is where a few minutes later Grace tells Redford the story of exactly how the accident happened (what an amazing, heart- wrenching scene she gives us). And Redford gives her some great fatherly advice and emotional 'relief' - we can feel her healing. Another is in the barn where Grace's mother / Redford finally talk about their feelings... an emotionally vulnerable woman, and a complete gentleman with enough character to know what is right for all of them.Finally, the emotional climax is where Grace enters the corral and confronts her fears about the horse. It's her chance, and all the supporting characters are there for her, standing up for her. In the end both her, the horse, and all 'the comebacks' come to total fruition and complete triumph. There are so many parallels between the injured horse and the flawed people that are emotionally involved in the story...All in all, this is really a 'comeback' movie - for Grace, the horse, for Redford's character, Grace's mother - all of them are {in movie magic 'reality'} learning to love again. THIS narrative is the real focus of the film... if you watch it again from this perspective, you'll see a very young and an incredibly gorgeous (quite visible even at such a young age) Scarlett to shine - better than in just the few glimpses of good acting that we manage to otherwise catch.