The Horse Whisperer

A riding accident in New York leaves the teenage Grace and her horse Pilgrim badly injured. Her mother Annie leaves her magazine job to find Tom Booker, a horse trainer in Montana. As the recovery goes on, something else begins between Annie and Tom. Robert Redford directed and starred, the first time he did both on one film. Eric Roth and Richard LaGravenese adapted Nicholas Evans's 1995 novel. Kristin Scott Thomas plays Annie, Sam Neill her husband, and a very young Scarlett Johansson plays Grace. There is a real person behind it: Buck Brannaman, the horse trainer who inspired the Tom Booker character, worked as technical consultant and doubled for Redford. It opened on 15 May 1998 and grossed 186.9 million dollars worldwide against a 60 million budget. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 73 percent, with critics praising the cinematography and noting the length. The song A Soft Place to Fall was nominated for an Oscar. It left a mark on the language: using whisperer for anyone with an unusual gift for animals spread after this film. Who it is for: viewers who like slow, scenic, emotional films. Who it is not for: anyone short on patience. It runs close to three hours and the central conflict is set up in the first half.