after indecent proposal and up close and personal , redford was wise to direct himself in a picture at last .
redford may look great on - screen , but over the past few years , he 's proven himself a bigger talent behind the camera .
ordinary people is one of the best films of the nineteen - eighties , and it was the first picture he helmed .
while the milagro beanfield war was only occasionally successful at combining magic - realism with . . .
um , realism , and i 've never been much of a fan of a river runs through it ( to the chagrin of many ) , quiz show was dazzling , energetic and convincing .
the horse whisperer represents both his directorial return to nature films and the first time in that sub - genre redford seems equally concerned with humans and scenery .
scott - thomas plays annie maclean , an uptight but respected new york magazine editor whose daughter grace ( johanssen )
loses a leg and a good friend when an early morning ride climaxes with their horses colliding with a semi .
grace 's horse survived , but barely , and has gone mad .
annie refuses to put the animal out of his misery , believing that if the horse heals it will mend grace 's newly - broken spirit .
eventually , mother and daughter travel alone to montana to be with tom booker ( redford ) , a famed " horse whisperer " who has a gift of calming horses with simple looks and touches , leaving busy husband neill behind .
eventually , they move onto the booker ranch with the rest of tom 's family , and annie finds herself falling in love with all things montana , including , naturally , tom , the wise and lonely trainer .
the horse whisperer is delicately made .
i dare say lyrical , since to many people 's ear , that word is synonymous with boring .
hardly .
the horse whisperer has little to offer in the way of surprise , but it does have an honesty that is refreshing and consistently enjoyable to watch , especially in the final third of the story .
scott - thomas and johanssen seem like mother and daughter , and you have no doubt believing that the mountain vistas would put these new yorkers under a spell , especially since d .
p .
robert richardson 's photography casts montana as heaven on earth .
( a gimmicky but effective technique the filmmakers employ is a switch in aspect ratio from squarish to widescreen when the central location shifts from new york to montana . )
the underrated sam neill turns in perhaps his most heartfelt , emotive performance as the nice - guy husband , who is as authoritive and likeable as tom .
he is indeed a refreshing change from the sexist , lout of a husband so many writers resort to as a short - cut for explaining away the cheating spouse 's motivation .
unfortunately , one of the horse whisperer 's only flaws is the chemistry between would - be lovers scott - thomas and redford .
i liked both of them , but i did n't necessarily believe that redford would fall for such a cold fish , even if the countryside air thawed her slightly .
luckily ( and curiously ) , this is such a rich and textured movie that it does n't quite matter - their adultery seems like an afterthought , the obligatory sub - plot that ties many of the characters ' complex relationships together .
one of the best films refreshing and consistently enjoyable underrated his most heartfelt , emotive performance delicately made he 's proven himself a bigger talent behind the camera a refreshing change effective technique