THE HORSE WHISPERER

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: adultery, thematic elements

Rated:

Hailed as one of the finest films ever made and shown as a cinematic triumph, I was expecting a bit more from The Horse Whisperer than I actually received. It's more about a love affair than the healing that real life horse whisperers give to hundreds of neglected and abused animals worldwide. Thus said, it's not realistic or lifelike... it's just another sordid story.

A family already torn apart by marriage problems is about to take a drastic dive into despair, heartache, and sorrow when two girls take their prized horses out for a frosty morning ride that quickly turns deadly when a terrible truck accident kills one of the girls and mangles the other, as well as causing heart-wrenching instability in Pilgrim, one of the horses. Grace, in critical condition, plunges into despair when her leg is amputated and she returns home uncommunicative and bitter. The veterinarian desires to put Pilgrim down, but Grace and her mother forbid it. The horse is panicky, wild, terrorized and badly cut but they can still see something of the old Pilgrim in his velvety brown eyes. Through a series of events, Grace's mother Anne learns of a "Horse Whisperer," a man so in tune with the animal that he can actually communicate with them. So against her husband's better advice, she packs up panicky horse, rebellious daughter, and sets out for the Booker ranch, where this infamous "whisperer" lives. 

Tom is not the man she anticipated him to be and refuses to help Pilgrim, seeing as the "daughter needs as much healing as the stallion." But with some fine words -- and just plain begging on Anne's part -- he agrees to work with the mount. He isn't content with working with Pilgrim -- he also wants to work with Grace. The girl, scarred, scared, and angry with her past, refuses any contact with him or her stallion. As Anne desperately attempts to patch the pieces back together and save the horse that seems so deeply rooted to her own uncertain future, she finds herself enthralled with "The Horse Whisperer." And when her husband arrives unexpectedly, Grace is the only one thrilled to see him. Could it be that Tom will be the healing factor in this hurting family... or the one that drives them apart forever?

The Horse Whisperer is the kind of film that crosses the boundaries of Christian living and somehow manages to get away with it since "nothing really happened." It ensnares equine lovers with the promise of gorgeous horseflesh, and a stirring line of redeeming a wild spirit in a broken animal. But the true lesson here is one of romance... a forbidden love affair that -- true, never leaps into bed but comes mighty close -- that plays rings around the true message that we were hoping for. Anne and Tom don't seem to think anything of her marriage to Robert. Although they do stay within the common boundaries of decency, the pair wade into deep water intentionally by spending time together. Ultimately this leads to several passionate kisses and a sensuous dance before Anne chooses the right and returns to her husband. The film ends on an uncertain note -- what is to stop her from turning the truck around and heading back into Montana one day? Yes, they part... by his insistence. But all the same, the family has been wounded. The husband is hurting. The daughter is hurting. The mother is hurting -- because she must leave this newfound love. The only healed one is Pilgrim, who is brought around in a series of insane tricks that no true Horse Whisperer would ever use without fear for their life. 

Yes, the ultimate choice for good is made... but it should have never been an option in the first place. Content-wise, the film is a very low-key PG13 without much language or problematic concerns (aside from the plot itself). The collision between horses, riders, and truck is seen only briefly in one heart-shattering instance of realism in which we glimpse the horses falling, the truck sliding, the impact and the terror of Pilgrim as he rears up, throwing Grace into the snow. There's a lack of music in the scene which makes it seem all the more horrifying. Grace also becomes very rebellions and hurtful to her parents; and the strain of believing that they may break up over Tom plays a large role in the ultimate climax scene. Redford went all out to make the film as visually-attractive as possible with clever camera angles, gorgeous countryside, and absolutely stunning horse flesh. But for an animal-lover like myself, the redemption of a horse's spirit cannot erase the romantic affair that it merely supports. A good message, perhaps, but wrapped in bad standards that prove a caltrop for most well-meaning families.