The Horse Whisperer (film)

The Horse Whisperer is a 1998 American neo-western drama film directed by and starring Robert Redford, based on the 1995 novel The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans. Redford plays the title role, a talented trainer with a remarkable gift for understanding horses, who is hired to help an injured teenager (played by Scarlett Johansson) and her horse back to health following a tragic accident.

The film was produced by Touchstone Pictures and released on May 15, 1998 by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. It received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed nearly $187 million worldwide.

Plot

In Lake Luzerne, New York, teenagers Grace MacLean and her best friend Judith go out early one winter's morning to ride their horses, Pilgrim and Gulliver. As they ride up an icy slope, Gulliver slips and hits Pilgrim. Both horses fall, dragging the girls onto a road, where they are hit by a tractor-trailer. Judith and Gulliver, are killed, while Grace and Pilgrim are severely injured.

Grace, left with a partially amputated right leg, is bitter and withdrawn after the accident. Meanwhile, Pilgrim is traumatized and uncontrollable to the extent that it is suggested he be put down. Grace's mother Annie, a strong-minded, workaholic magazine editor, refuses to allow it, sensing that Grace's recovery is linked with Pilgrim's.

Desperate for a way to heal Grace and Pilgrim, Annie tracks down a "horse whisperer", Tom Booker, in the remote Montana mountains. Tom agrees to help but only if Grace takes part in the process. Grace reluctantly agrees, and she and Annie go to stay at the Booker ranch where Tom lives with his brother and his brother's family.

As Pilgrim and Grace slowly overcome their trauma, Annie and Tom develop a mutual attraction. However, they are both reluctant to act on these feelings – Annie is married, and Tom had his heart broken when his wife left him because she belonged in the city. Tom asks Grace to tell him what happened with her and Pilgrim to understand what Pilgrim is feeling. At first, Grace is reluctant, but she eventually gathers the courage to describe the accident.

The status quo between Annie and Tom is broken when Robert MacLean, Grace's father and Annie's husband, unexpectedly shows up at the ranch. Annie is torn between her feelings for Tom and her love for her family. Soon, with Tom's help, Grace takes the last step to heal herself and Pilgrim – riding Pilgrim again. As the MacLeans get ready to leave the ranch, Robert tells Annie that he wants her to make a choice and not to come home until she is sure.

Although Annie wishes she could stay with Tom on the ranch, she knows that she belongs in the city, just like Tom's wife. She departs while Tom watches her go from the top of a hill.

Cast

Production

Although he had already directed several films, this was the first time Robert Redford directed a film that he also starred in.

The main character, according to writer Nicholas Evans,

Reception

Box office

The Horse Whisperer grossed $74.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $111.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $186.9 million.

In its opening weekend, the film made $13.7 million and finished in second, then made $14.5 million and $7.5 million the following two weekends.

Janet Maslin in The New York Times says that the film "sustains great visual intensity thanks to Robert Richardson's majestic cinematography" but its "rock-solid values" are diluted by "a misconceived ending",

The song "A Soft Place to Fall" by Allison Moorer and Gwil Owen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Moorer performs the song in the movie. The film was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Redford for Best Director at the 56th Golden Globe Awards.

In popular culture

The movie's popularity led to the word "whisperer" being used as a slang term for anyone with a strong affinity for a particular animal or being. For instance, in the 2015 biographical feature film Steve Jobs, Apple CEO John Sculley (Jeff Daniels) has a talk with Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) because Jobs is perceived to be difficult to communicate with, and Sculley is perceived to be a "Steve whisperer".