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All sentiment, no soul!

Anuj Talukder

Socially acceptable family films continue to make sense. Or so it seems. Satellite television is full of them. And even though most of Hollywood has moved beyond, a few remain stuck in the rut of armchair philosophies and sweet emotional family dramas (Message In A Bottle, Hope Floats).

Not that there is anything wrong with that, except that the storylines of these films don't vary much. There's a happy family at the beginning, then there's a crisis leading to a mammoth struggle on the part of the family. Ultimately, courage triumphs and the protagonists pull through it together.

Which is why it is disappointing to see a well-made movie go awry at the crucial moment. That's the case with The Horse Whisperer, directed by Robert Redford. Based on the book by Nicholas Evans, this movie promised to be a gut-wrenching story of the relationship between a teenaged girl, Grace Maclean (Scarlett Johansson), and her horse.

Calamity strikes in the form of an accident that threatens the lives of both girl and horse. The story is about their recovery and the renewal of their relationship, and how the horse whisperer steps in at the precise moment and sets the world right in his own subtle way.

The movie is beautifully shot (cinematography by Robert Richardson), with exotic landscapes highlighted best when the girl, along with her mother, Annie (Kristian Scott Thomas), drive across America to meet Tom Brooke (Redford), the horse whisperer. This is possibly the most memorable sequence in the film, complemented by a strong audio track (music by Thomas Newman). Set in beautiful mid-Western farm land, the film exploits the location to the maximum.

It focuses on the relationship between the traumatised daughter and her dominating mother, a very '90s woman. Redford, who plays the hard-to-get horse whispere, is more like a teenaged cowboy in an old man's clothes. He falls in love with Thomas, much to the disapproval of his sister-in-law (Dianne Wiest). Thomas's husband (Sam Neill) pays them a surprise visit, tears are shed and family values are finally restored.

While all this is happening, the main story -- of the girl and her horse -- takes backstage and remain there till the end of the film. And this is where the movie loses direction and becomes predictable.

Though Redford and Scott Thomas slip into their roles well, their relationship is never quite convincing. Redford, however, is good as the horse whisperer. He plays the part with a pleasant mix of sensitivity and dynamism. Scott Thomas comes into her own as the career woman, but is somewhat uncomfortable handling the complex emotions of a mother.

The movie would have been much nicer if it were an hour shorter. It flows beautifully till we are drawn into a romantic relationship that seems more appropriate for a TV soap.

What still make the movie worth watching are the musical score, the stunning visuals and a great performance by Johansson. Through most of the film, she remains at the helm, portraying anger, sorrow, disappointment and a host of other emotions with ease.

There have been several attempts to turn bestselling books into moneyspinning movies but this one surely doesn't rank among the best efforts. It starts out on the right note, but loses its soul to make allowances for popular sentiment. What could have been a great emotional drama is reduced to just another soppy film.