Release Date: 12/25/2011
The unique story in Michael Morpurgo’s short children’s novel is told from the horse’s perspective. Nick Stafford’s Tony-winning stage adaptation was a sensation in London and often brought theater goers to tears, sometimes even weeping. However, the film adaptation of War Horse, written by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) and Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral & Love Actually) and directed by Steven Spielberg, is a horse of a entirely different color. War Horse begins with a remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and young man named Albert. When they are forcefully parted during the outbreak of World War I, fate takes Joey on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides of the war, changing and inspiring lives of all those he meets, before finding himself in No Man’s Land.
The opening 45 minutes of the film is spent forming the relationship between Albert and Joey. It’s a bit long, and probably the weakest part of the film, but it’s necessary for the rest of the film. Ted Narracott (Peter Mullan) is a farmer desperately looking for a strong horse to help him cultivate his crop. Ted buys a Thoroughbred instead of the much stronger Clydesdale, for more than three times it’s worth, all on a whim. Ted’s son Albert (Jeremy Irvine) immediately forms a bound with the animal and vows to his mother Rose (Emily Watson) that he will train the horse and cultivate the family’s crop. When the landowner threatens to foreclose on the family plot, Ted sells Joey to a British soldier, Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston) to fight in the war. After a failed skirmish in France, the succession of owners continues: a forced march hauling huge German howitzers; a short stay with a farmer (Niels Arestrup) and his granddaughter (Celine Buckens); and helping two young German brothers (David Kross & Leonhard Carow) trying to escape the war. At the end of the line of unending hardships, the character we most feel for is the film’s equine hero, Joey.
The acting was quite strong. All of the actors distinguish themselves given their allotted screentime. Jeremy Irvine makes his feature film debut and with it, kick-starts a very promising career. As two Army officers, Noah Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston turn in two solid performances as they shift the film from beautiful countryside into the dark war zone. Emily Watson and Peter Mullan are also quite strong. However, the most heartfelt performance comes from Niels Arestup as Grandfather, who not only delivers the film’s best line, but also the film’s most emotional scene. The strongest element of the film though, by far, is the cinematography by longtime Spielberg collaborator Janusz Kaminksi. With a breathtaking sunset as the film’s finale, War Horse might just be the most visually stunning film of 2011.
It is difficult to say which audience War Horse was intended for. At times it seems like a family film made by Disney, at others it seems like a signature Spielberg film. Some scenes come off a little preachy while others may be a little too violent for certain age groups. I will say this, if you are a fan of Spielberg, you will probably leave the theater a little disappointed. It never quite lives up the any the films that its being compared to. As a story of a rare friendship between a young man and courageous creature, it’s not quite ET. As a story depicting the compelling horrors of conflict in a major World War, it is nowhere in the vicinity of Saving Private Ryan. I had very high emotional expectations that the film never quite fulfilled. War Horse is a solid film that tests the endurance of friendship that left me strangely unaffected.
IMDb: 7.5/10
Rottentomatoes: 77%
Movie Wiseguys: 7.0/10