5/5 Like Redford himself the movie has aged well!
  by Judith Johnson (Albany, NY)
I had the pleasure of viewing this movie projected on the big screen when it was first released, however, I was disappointed in the ending which diverges from the 1995 book by Nicholas Evans. It has taken me a while to understand why director Robert Redford ended on a moral high note and I believe he was trying to convey the lessons he had learned from mistakes he made in his personal life.

Panned for its length, the leisurely pace of The Horse Whisperer is a visual valentine to the breadth of our great country, from snowy New England meadows to majestic thunderstorms in snow capped mountain ranges. The movie has aged like a fine wine and I have to periodically uncant it to savor Redford's grace notes (as it were)-the way Tom Booker (Redford) secures a missed button on Annie's (Kirstin Scott Thomas) dress; the rural radio stations coming over the air during the journey west; the look on Grace's (Scarlett Johansson) face when she realizes she can drive; that one slow waltz between Annie and Tom which conveys more raw emotion than most sex scenes.

What's not to like here? No director has managed to elict a finer performance from Johansson; Kirstin Scott Thomas is at the peak of her beauty; Chris Cooper, Diane Weist and Sam Neill are all pitch perfect, heck even the little Booker boys are great. Although the plot centers around a kind, wise and patient animal trainer who nurses a girl and her stallion back to health, the healer is only human and I believe he fell for Annie from the first time he laid eyes on her which adds the poignancy of this memorable movie. Beware, the Horse Whisperer can make a girl yearn to live in Montana, and just remember, Tom Booker isn't there!


3/5 A Bit Melodramatic, But Beautiful To See
  by Craig Connell (Lockport, NY USA)
Here's a beautifully filmed "horse opera" about a New York teenage girl (Scarlett Johannsson, who is now a well-known actress but wasn't when this was made) and her horse, both of whom are badly injured in a mishap and are healed by a Montana horse expert, played by Robert Redford.

Redford also directed this film and being such an outdoorsman, you know this is going to show nature in a beautiful way....and it does. The Montana scenery is just awesome.

After a dramatic opening scene in which we see the horse and daughter hurt, the mother (Kristin Scott-Thonas) takes the girl and the horse out West to see if the horse can be salvaged. Unfortunately, the mother - who is married - falls for the horseman "Tom Booker" (Redford) and an adulterous relationship almost comes to fruition. That romance is the soap opera part of the film but it's nice to see everyone, including Redford's character, healed of emotional as well as physical wounds.

This film is a bit too much of a melodrama at times which makes it a long in spots, but it's a long movie to begin with (169 minutes). It's so beautifully filmed, however, that for that alone the movie is worth seeing.

I sure hope someone makes a sharp Blu-Ray disc of this film. It would be truly awesome to view.



5/5 The Lost Complexities of this Movie
  by Boston Legal addict (Redlands, California USA)
This is conceivably my favorite movie of all time, and definitely my favorite soundtrack. There is so much more to this film than I've seen anyone write. Sure it's a romance, horse, child loving horse, injured child (mentally and physically), horsey guy, etc. and whatever else you've read about this movie. But what I'll attempt to write here is what you're not going to see anywhere else.

My personal favorite dynamic in human to human or human to animal relationships is the garnering of trust. And someone, or both, having that intuition to be such that they earn that trust. This is what you have in this movie. Some spoilers may be involved here...

Kristen Scott Thomas' character is ill - on the fast track professionally and away from a quality marriage. Some might call that success and indeed her character was so caught up in her life that she probably thought she was doing fine. Scarlette Johannson's character is ill as well - both physically and mentally from the accident and from a lack of true connection to her parents, especially her mother. The horse is, well, broken - physically, of course, but traumatized from the accident.

These three come to beautiful, clean and pristine (but not over-the-top gorgeous - as I've heard Redford say that he wanted the landscape to speak for itself -intrinsic beauty - not from the photography making it beautiful - paraphrased here) country and they meet Robert Redford's character. He is so peacefully understanding of what these other three are about - he takes stock of the mother (all New York of her), the horse (traumatized) and the girl (resistent and hurting). He presents himself in such a way that he is totally non-threatening and they all, on their own levels, come to trust him...and they heal.

It is a movie about trust. There are prices to pay for that trust, for sure. Redford's character opens up in a way he never thought he would again but I like how this director ended the movie rather than how the book ended. The book ending made no sense in the context of who the character was so I appreciate that Redford changed it. The mother pays a price for sure....the horse and the girl...well, they're healed and all is right with their world..

There are many levels on which to watch this movie - the photography is gorgeous, the horses, the way of life - all beautiful....the music, well, gorgeous and grandiose in parts....the characters multi-level....The husband (Sam Neill)is intelligent and shows he has a good understanding of how his marriage is and the changes his wife has gone through while with Redford. It's a tear-jerker for sure - I don't think as many times as I've watched this movie, that I haven't been crying at the end. But I hate to see it end....Enjoy this movie - I envy you the first time.

3/5 The lost message of this film
  by W. Blackmore (Boulder, CO.)
There's a message that Redford is trying to subtly get across. Redford is trying to convey that the most important things in life (and to mankind) are simple. Relax, love one another, live where you want, do what you want, and know that in spite of all of that, you can still be respected.

In a fast-paced America, we fight amongst each other for money, property, job status and damn near everything else. We even compete on the roads to see which one of us will arrive at the red light first!

As the film points out, we have no time for realtionships with our children or even time to make home-made spaghetti sauce.

This film was attempt to remind us that integrity is worth more than greed.

Just my opinion.

5/5 Very good movie
  by DPNT (Arizona)
Loved this movie and needed to have my own copy to watch whenever I want. Great movie for all horse lovers