An average movie

I already saw this movie but it was ages ago and, above all, I just finished reading the book so I thought I might as well check it out again. In fact, I have to admit it, it is not really the kind of stories that would at first really attract me. However it was the very first time that Robert Redford directed and appeared on screen which made the whole thing slightly more intriguing to me. Eventually, it turned out to be pretty successful at the box-office and it was probably the most popular movie he has directed. Well, personally, I actually ended up with some mixed feelings about the damned thing. I mean, on one hand, there was a very strong cast involved (Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Neill, Dianne Wiest, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Cooper, Kate Bosworth) and Redford definitely managed to create a really nice mood. However, on the other hand, I’m not sure if I really cared about this story. In fact, a big difference between the book and the film adaptation was that the love story between Tom Booker and Annie MacLean was unconsummated in the movie but it was definitely not the case in the book. The end-result was therefore much more realistic but also much less passionate as well. Another issue, this time in both versions, was that it was never convincing that Tom would fall so much in love with Annie. I don’t blame Kristin Scott Thomas, she was as usual terribly charismatic but her character, especially in the movie version, was for too long such a bossy stressed out and arrogant woman. As a result, you wonder why such a laidback guy like Tom Booker would ever be so fascinated by her. Finally, the issue with this story was that it started out as the very intriguing healing of a traumatized horse and a traumatized girl by a wise horseman but it got completely undermined by this sappy and rather unconvincing love story. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.