Review
US – Dreamworks (UK release 13 January 2012)
In rural England in the early twentieth century a drunk farmer (Ted, played by Peter Mullan) buys an unsuitable, thoroughbred horse to work his land. In the face of ruin his son, Albert (Jeremy Irvine), takes it upon himself to train and name him (Joey) and through their exertions the two become bonded. The onset of war however requires that the father sell the horse to a soldier so that it might be used in the effort in France. And so begins the story of the brave, remarkable War Horse…
It’s a story that’s been told before – in Michael Morpurgo’s book for children – where events are described from the perspective of the horse, and in Nick Stafford’s incredible stage adaptation – where puppets are used to represent the animals. Now comes Steven Speilberg’s vision, which is everything you might expect it to be: rousing, with brilliantly staged action sequences and several moments of real cinematic beauty. But also a little bit cheesy.
The first segment doesn’t change much from previous tellings: boy trains horse, bonds with horse, has his heart broken by father’s betrayal. Though Mullan and Emily Watson, as Albert’s mother, Rose, are fabulous actors, they are lumbered with a lot of very sincere dialogue and earnest philosophising which is as likely to induce groans as it is get you onside. Irvine is saddled with it too. Add to that an intrusive soundtrack underlining every emotional cue and you have an opening section which leaves much to be desired.
Be thankful then, when Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston: handsome, charming ) and Major Stewart (played by Benedict Cumberbatch with spirited, old-school pizzazz) arrive to take Joey to the front: finally, the film is out of the stalls. Joey’s introduction to World War I is beautifully staged, the cavalry rising up from out a wheatfield before ambushing a German camp. The ensuing violence puts you right in the line of fire (as it does elsewhere) and is noisy, blunt and brutal, but never bloody or explicit.
Further episodes see Joey change hands and also sides in the conflict, to varying degrees of success. An encounter with two German brothers, which features a beautifully composed shot of an execution, couldn’t better have expressed the indiscriminate, horrifyingly wasteful impact of the war. Another, which sees an infirm French girl and her grandpère take the horse in, lacks emotional power. The reason for this is because here we encounter problems with the distracting language representations in the film: is the German soldier (speaking English with a German accent) speaking German to the Frenchman (who speaks English with a French accent)? Or French? Or English?
War Horse is thus a film that is both entertaining and irritating. Though Spielberg is playing with classic tropes and imagery (the composition of final scene is very reminiscent of Gone with the Wind), it is not, sadly, classic Spielberg. That said, his lament for the lives lost in war is keenly felt and you’re unlikely to make it through the running time without having shed at least one tear.
About the Author
