"War Horse" is the latest film directed and produced by the powerhouse duo of Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy. It is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Murpurgo. A cast of many recognizable faces and a crew of Spielberg's usual people (such as John Williams doing the score and Janusz Kaminski handling cinematography) would seem to indicate this should be a sure thing as far as success. While it hasn't necessarily been the proverbial "box office boffo", the film has held steady since its Christmas Day release and thus far has raked in over $78M versus its $66M budget.
A teenage boy named Albert (Jeremy Irvine) happens to come upon a horse in a field as she gives birth. He returns to the site now and then to see the young colt grow. In time, the young horse is brought to auction and we see a bidding war erupt between Albert's father, Ted (Petter Mullan) and his landlord, Lyons (David Thewlis). Lyons drives up the bid and Ted, sick of Lyons and his arrogance, bids higher every time, refusing to let him win for once. Ted does win the horse, but at a high price that means he can't pay the rent. Lyons visits the farm and threatens to take over if Ted doesn't make his payments. Ted assures Lyons that he'll get the money by having the field plowed and crops planted. Albert says he will aid in doing so. Lyons acquiesces, feeling there's no way that rocky sloped field will ever be cleaned up, and certainly not by the horse Ted's purchased.
Albert winds up bonding with the horse and names him Joey. Despite the bond, Albert winds up putting his own life at risk when Ted, who has been drinking, is ready to shoot the horse out of desperation. Ted's wife, Rose (Emily Watson), calms Ted down and also shows Albert his father's war medals. She gives to Albert a pennant Ted carried in the war. Ted was injured in the war and walks with a limp, and she says he isn't proud of things he did during the war, which is why he wanted to throw all the medals and banners away, but Rose kept them and hid them so Albert could see them today.
The horse winds up a true stud, athletic and strong. He and Albert get the field plowed, even in the rain, breaking through rocks and navigating the hill. Unfortunately, some time later a major rainstorm destroys the turnips that have been cultivating, and Ted sees no other option in paying the rent than to sell the horse. Without telling Albert, Ted sells the horse to the British Army since World War I has just broken out. Albert does find out and races to the site where the horse is being sold. He begs the officer to reconsider, but Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston) assures Albert that he will take great care of the horse as if it was his own, and return him after the war if possible. Albert tries to enlish, but is too young. Nonetheless, he is appeased, and he ties Ted's banner to the bridle.
In the years that follow, we follow Joey's journey through World War I. Due to various circumstances and events, Joey winds up at different times on the Allies side or the Axis side. He bonds with a larger black horse named Topthorn. He becomes a cavalry horse, and sometimes a workhorse. He spends some time with a young girl and her grandfather. Through it all, there are perils aplenty. The one semi-spoiler I will give here is to say years do pass, and Albert gets older, and he does enlist in the army. When he finally does appear on screen, one would think a reunion with Joey is imminent. But at what cost?
A total of fourteen different horses played Joey in this film, including one horse that also portrayed Seabiscuit in that excellent film from 2003. The film was originally set to be released in the U.S. last August, but after previews Spielberg felt the film "felt like a holiday film", so the release date changed to Christmas Day. The reception has been generally positive, but a few naysayers have chimed in with criticism of the heavyhanded emotion (dare I say "sappy"?) and some of Spielberg's classic tricks that we've seen in prior films. I personally did enjoy the film quite a bit more than I expected. When the film first came out, I saw the commercials and heard the typically-overblown John Williams score (sorry, but after the first hundred or so John Williams scores, they're all just too grandiose for me anymore) and I crowned this "Film Most Attempted To Be Shoved Down Our Throats As Oscar Bait" for 2011. After seeing it, I did find it a bit long and certainly DRIPPING with sap, but I enjoyed it, and that's the bottom line. The scene of Joey running through the trenches at night with bombs and explosions going off around him may be the most thrilling sight I've seen on the big screen in a very long time.
While the film has garnered many accolades and nominations in the last couple of months, the American Film Institute is thus far the only awarding organization to have crowned "War Horse" as its top film. There have been several wins for the cinematography, but for the most part otherwise the film has just racked up a long list of nominations. This includes the 6 nominations it has going into the Oscars: Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Art/Set Direction, Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing. If this film had come out, say, 20 or 25 years ago, this film would probably win Best Picture. This is exactly the type of film that used to win Oscars, and a lot of them. A sweeping epic with a war backdrop? "The English Patient". "The Last Emperor". "Braveheart". In 2012, it's not such a sure bet, but one never knows when the old types of Oscar favorites that won Best Picture could come around again. Don't count this one out.
"War Horse" can still be seen in theaters nationwide.
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