War Horse

When I saw the trailer for this movie, admittedly I got excited. One of my all time favorite directors has a new movie out with the score done by none other than the maestro himself, John Williams. The movie, the cinematic retelling of the smash Broadway hit of the same name which was adapted by the novel by Michael Morpurgo of the same name, War Horse looked like it was going to be thrilling. The trailer had all the elements of what looked to be an exciting movie. I mean really, who doesn't love a good horse story and by that same vein who doesn't love a good war movie? And if you've seen Saving Private Ryan you know Steven Spielberg is a master of the war movie genre. The trailer was stirring, horse racing past barbed wire while explosions lit up the night, the soaring score, the aerial shots of the lush countryside, the trailer had me hooked. Sadly though upon seeing Spielberg's latest offering I have come to the conclusion that the trailer was leaps and bounds better than the actual movie in my opinion.

War Horse had a cast of so many faces that I didn't recognize and a lot that I did thanks to Harry Potter. Cast members like David Thewlis and Peter Mullan hail from the Potter canon while Eddie Marsan is in two winter movies this year. He is in this film as well as being in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The rest of the key members of the cast includes the immensely talented Emily Watson and Jeremy Irvine in his first film as Albert Narracott, the boy that loves his horse. The rest of the cast comes and goes in the movie as they come into contact with the horse. It's more an ensemble piece which I think takes away from the movie. There are so many people that come into contact with this horse that's been taken from Albert once England goes to war with Germany that there aren't any real emotional ties to any of the characters. Do you care about the little French girl who's sick or her grandpapa doing his best to keep her alive? Not really? Do you care about the two young deserters from the German army who only want to get home back to their mother? Nope, not really.

Don't get me wrong, this movie WILL tug at your heart strings unless you're a cynic like me. In that case you'll wonder why everyone around you is crying their eyes out and you're not. You may wonder what is wrong with you. I am here to assure you that there's nothing wrong with you or those crying and blowing their nose into tissues and handkerchiefs. Spielberg, the master manipulator he is pulled out all the tricks for this movie. The blazing sunsets, the closeups, the music, the war torn country sides, the evil Germans, the heroic Brits it's all here in here. Wrapped up for you in a nice bow and in two hours and twenty six minutes. There were good scenes, really good scenes, gripping even but there weren't enough of them to make a good movie. If Spielberg focused on Albert doing his part in the war and on the horse doing his part then maybe this movie would have hit the bulls eye but as it is, it's not even a flesh wound. The only significant emotional storyline is between Albert and his drunkard of a father Ted played by Peter Mullan. Ted has been through war and according to Albert's mother Rose his father drinks to forget all the killing and dying he's seen. Albert doesn't believe it but he soon finds out what war is like and how it can break a man. He comes to see his father in a completely different light towards the end and that's touching.

Cinematically the movies is beautiful to look at. Like I mentioned, the aerial shots, the sunsets, and scenes of war are impressive but nothing was better than the horse himself. I don't know how many horses were used in the making of this film but if it was just one, he was magnificent to look at. He's a pretty good actor as well. Spielberg has Janusz Kiminski as usual doing the cinematography and it appears Janusz has lightened up a bit. His look is usually very bleak bordering on black and white images but this movie is full of color which seems like a departure for Kaminski. The score is, well do I even need to mention the score? It IS John Williams after all.

If you're a sentimentalist then bring tissues and if you're not, don't bother. For that matter only see this film if you're a Spielberg fan, if you're not then skip it and wait for the DVD and I'll see you at the theater.