I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

While I've always maintained that Robert Redford was born to play Jay Gatsby, his role in The Horse Whisperer is probably the best representation of his persona we all know and love. He's a rancher who loves nature and helps heal wounded horses. Is there a more suitable film for the voice of the National Resources Defense Council and the creator of Sundance? A fourteen-year-old Scarlett Johansson stars as a teen girl who, following a tragic horseback riding accident, loses all hope and light in her life. Her parents, Sam Neill and Kristin Scott Thomas, handle the aftermath differently, and her go-getter mom contacts the famous "horse whisperer" doctor to help heal Scarlett's horse. Robert Redford is the title character, and when he refuses to come to New York, Kristin packs up her daughter and the horse and drives to his ranch in Montana.Filmed in the natural beauty of Montana, the audience can't help but fall in love with the exquisite animals and scenery—and Robert Redford. He directs this movie as well as stars in it, and his slow, sensitive directorial touch is so perfect for this story. I can't imagine another director treating the script with such love. It's not a fast-paced horseback riding film; it's a filmed healing process. Anyone who's ever experienced a physical or emotional hurt knows the healing process takes time and effort, and even the smallest gesture, like turning off the stove to show you're really listening, can help.The acting in The Horse Whisperer is pretty fantastic. Anyone who sees Scarlett's incredible talent in this film will not understand why she's stuck making comic book movies now. While Kristin Scott Thomas is very convincing as a Type-A, controlling, cold career woman, she is by far my worst part of the movie. She's unlikable, from beginning to end. One could argue that her character is supposed to be unlikable, but I disagree. Had Emma Thompson been cast in the role, she would have been controlling and driven, but she also would have had an underlying warmth. You would have sensed that even though she's doing or saying something wrong, she has good intentions. Kristin's entire aura is repellant, and because of this casting error, part of the plot is entirely unbelievable.There are many great reasons to watch The Horse Whisperer, and one last compliment I'll bestow is to Thomas Newman's beautiful, memorable score. The most important element to a score is that the audience really feels what's going on in the movie when they listen to the music. When you hear Thomas Newman's music, you feel the injured horse slowly healing and learning to trust again.

This movie put on airs that I feel it was unable to live up to.I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a movie for youth or adults, but if you have a horse-loving kid, you might want to know it's not exactly a wholesome family movie. A large part of the story involves the mother's lust for another man. The husband was not shown as insensitive, uncaring, unsupportive or uncommunicative, so evidently we were not supposed to sympathize with this woman.It didn't sit well with me the way they seemed to be pushing the girl to get better before she was ready, treating her as though there were something wrong with her and she should just snap out of it. To me it didn't seem like it had been very long, and rushing her doesn't seem like a good idea when everyone does things at a different pace.The movie overall seemed to drag; I think they could have taken out the whole affair part because it didn't really seem to have any purpose anyway, and that would have gotten it down to a normal length. The recovery of the horse was painfully slow, with many failures, just like in life. Trouble is though, this is a movie, so we need things to move along a little faster to maintain our interest. Not only was there not much whispering, but the man didn't even seem to have any special technique. It just didn't seem to make sense why this woman would want to spend so much money to fix this particular horse, when the process was so iffy, and the safety of her daughter was at stake.The accident scene was very well done. The trip to the ranch was a little ridiculous, driving cross-country with an unmanageable horse. (How did they feed it all this time, when they couldn't even get near it?) The scene at the hoedown was pretty intense. The final scene with the horse is kind of disturbing since he really didn't seem ready, though it's awesome when that horse gets up.Nobody really wowed me here with their performances. Scarlett was pretty good, as long as she didn't have to cry.Was it inspiring? I'm not sure. I want to give it a higher score since I feel like it is some kind of classic, but I just did not have that feeling of being charged up for the next day or so like I do when I see a good movie, or thinking about it all the next day. The affair and the rushing of the girl's progress left a bad aftertaste, if anything. It was a kind of low-key movie. I guess I was just expecting more magic or miracles, because that's what the movie set me up to expect.

one of the best films for me, I watch it each time with the same enthusiasm as the last and each time I see something new. Amazing. For various personal reasons I love this film. The acting from all, the story itself, the fact that Tom Booker doesn't quite engage on the telephone to the Annie, I thought he was rather shallow ie we are in Montana and I am not interested in anywhere else. Annie's sole commitment to healing the horse, whatever it takes, her pain and patience, the latter sometimes diminishing due to emotions. Scarlet excellent from beginning to end, the pain of her friend tragically dying, her horse being ill and near to death. I like Robert's ways, but prefer Tom. I watch this film at least once a month.

Maybe it's just me being sentimental about another film accompanied by a Thomas Newman soundtrack, but I thought this motion picture was outstanding. The aforementioned score by the great Tom Newman was the perfect accompaniment for this chilling, yet heartwarming tale; just one of the 11 injustices by the academy. I'm not familiar with most of Redford's work, and I was yet to be convinced by his acting; however, he played the role of Tom so fantastically, that's it's just one of those roles you know the actor was born to play. A couple of drawbacks were that I felt Scarlett Johansson's acting at times a little dry, albeit she was only 13 at the time.Cinematoraphy was excellent, most notably the scenes of rural Montana, as well as the opening and final scenes of Pilgrim (the horse) prancing around - unrelated to the plot.All in all, I would definitely recommend a watch. Solid 8/10.