War Horse

*OSCAR SPECIAL*

NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE 

http://www.warhorsemovie.co.uk/

As you will see from the date I saw War Horse, this is a review I wasn't planning on doing, but I felt like maybe I should review all of the nominees for Best Picture, or at least review the nominees for Best Picture that I have seen.

From the first trailer I saw for War Horse nothing about it grabbed me. I'm not a particular fan of horses or Spielberg or any of the actors involved and I haven't seen the play on which it's based. It was only when I started to see longer clips of the film on TV shows and when I heard the actors and director talk about making the film that I started to have any sort of interest in seeing it.

On the weekend that War Horse was released my friends and I decided to go see a film one Sunday afternoon. It was a choice of War Horse, Shame or The Darkest Hour. As there was one vote to not see Shame we tossed a coin to choose between the other two films on offer. War horse won the toss 3 times.

War Horse is a story told using lots of different people's points of view, but everyone who has a hand in the narrative, has a connection to the horse of the title, who's name is Joey. The first person we encounter is Albert (Jeremy Irvine), who's father Ted (Peter Mullan) buys Joey at auction, intending to use him to plow a particularly tough field on his farm. Albert trains Joey and they overcome many obstacles together. Albert is therefore distraught when he learns that Joey is to be sold at another auction and this time goes to Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston) who is fighting in the First World War. Through a series of events in the war, Joey ends up in the care of a french girl and her grandfather before eventually finding his way back to the front lines where Albert, who is now a soldier, is desperately trying to find Joey so they can be re-united.

I am pleased to report that War Horse was much better than the trailers implied and I really enjoyed it. It had humor, emotion and a courageous heart beating under that horses mane. Yes it is long but it would be hard to cut much more out of War Horse without it affecting the narrative. 

The acting is all top notch as you would expect from a Spielberg film, but most surprising was how amazing the horse was, especially as I am not an equine fan. Finder, the horse who plays Joey is amazing. Prior to seeing the film I learned that Finder has not only played Zorro's horse but also played Seabiscuit in the film of the same name (if you have not seen Seabiscuit I highly recommend it and so does my brother http://tinyurl.com/7c9mh9x). I must admit that this endeared me to him a little more than I would normally be endeared to a horse. But that doesn't take away from the fact that he is a truly magnificent creature and deserves an Oscar of his own. The scene on the front line involving Joey, Colin (the Geordie Soldier) and a member of the opposing side will move you to tears I guarantee.

Spielberg back to what he does best, a heart warming family film. 9 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 15th January 2012

UK Release Date - 13th January 2012

Cast Overview:

Jeremy Irvine ~ Albert Narracott

Peter Mullan ~ Ted Narracott

Emily Watson ~ Rose Narracott

Niels Arestrup ~ Grandfather

David Thewlis ~ Lyons

Tom Hiddleston ~ Captain Nicholls

Benedict Cumberbatch ~ Major Jamie Stewart

Celine Buckens ~ Emilie

Toby Kebbell ~ Colin (the Geordie Soldier)

Finder ~ Joey

Director ~ Steven Spielberg

Writer(s) ~ Lee Hall (Screenplay), Richard Curtis (Screenplay) and Michael Morpurgo (Novel)