Virginia's Run

VIRGINIA'S RUN

REVIEWED BY RISSI C.

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: reckless, disturbing behavior, mild innuendo

Rated:

It all started on a rainy, stormy night. Young Virginia Lofton (Lindze Letherman) has a fitful night and for some unknown reason senses something is wrong. Virginia wakes suddenly and leaves for the pasture where a horse is kept by the name of Twister. Virginia is a horse lover and is concerned about Twister, as she is due to foal soon. When she arrives, Twister is having trouble and is in need of assistance. After giving birth to a colt, Twister dies, which upsets Virginia greatly. Twister had once belonged to Virginia’s family, but after a terrible accident involving her mom, Virginia’s dad Frank (Gabriel Byrne) sold the horse to their neighbor Blake Raines and forbid Virginia to ever ride again.

After the foal is born, Virginia feels an instant bond between them. Raines, who is also a powerful member of their little community, asks Virginia to feed the colt and give him a name, something she agrees readily to, and something her father forbids her to do, saying he doesn’t want her near that horse. Of course, Virginia does go near the horse and is the only one who can get the colt to settle down. She tries to think of a name, and while “brain stormin’,”, inspiration strikes... what better name than Stormy?

Two years pass and Virginia is no closer to being able to ride a horse again, at least where her dad is concerned. What he doesn’t know is that Virginia visits Stormy every day. Virginia also has a rivalry going with Raines' son, and is being constantly teased by him to race in order to prove who is better. In addition to that, her older sister Caroline (Rachel Skarsten) is dating him. When the Raines hire new trainer Jessie Eastwood (Joanne Whalley), she becomes involved in Virginia and Frank’s lives and may even help Frank in understanding Virginia’s passion and her need to grow.

When I picked this film up, I had not read a thing or heard anything about it. It was only rated PG and sounded like an interesting story so, I decided to give it a try. If after reading the idea of the plot you are thinking, typical horse movie that has a girl helping a horse, they bond and so forth, you might be surprised. Yes, in many aspects it is the typical girl rescues horse and they form a lasting friendship, but it also has an inner core with more depth and emotion to it. Virginia and Caroline’s relationship is rocky in the beginning, partly because they are complete opposites and both went through a tragedy that no young girl should; both are searching for answers. Caroline deals with her grief by dating someone who is a complete jerk, while Virginia deals with her grief over loving the animal that took someone very dear to her.

There is some mild content to be concerned with. Virginia's behavior is disturbing and very reckless. The film opens with a stormy night and as lightning flashes across the sky, she sneaks out and is seen seconds later under a tree with Twister. When Virginia is challenged to a race, there is a train coming and instead of taking precautions and stopping she and Stormy leap over the tracks with only seconds to spare. She also disobeys her father and rides at night, once going in front of a car. Caroline has chosen an idiot for a boyfriend, yet continues to see him. She dresses in a mini skirt once and twice I saw her skin while wearing a short top. There are a couple of mild remarks made by Darrow about “not getting anything from Caroline." While bringing Caroline home, she asks if he’s mad because he didn’t get to take advantage of her; he replies “how is that different than any other time?” A car accident is shown, but isn’t horrific. Darrow cheats in the horse races, knocking people off and changing flags, whatever may be to his advantage. There are about two uses of he--. There may be some more mild language.

This gem of a film was an independent movie, but all the acting is noteworthy. I really like Joanne Whalley and the two lead actresses were fantastic. They have several scenes that are dramatic where they have to express their hurt and feelings. The best scenes are between Rachel and Lindze. I will hope to see more from these girls in the future. One of the best sequences in the movie comes near the middle and involves the Lofton’s attending an Easter dance. It has both a humorous part that makes you say finally and is cute with the girls playing matchmaker. If you are looking for a horse drama that isn’t terrible for the kids and yet still have a well written script that you can enjoy also, I recommend Virginia’s Run. This is a story about a family that came together to learn anew about each other’s feelings, dreams and despite their grief still have a shot at repairing the closeness they once had.