War Horse--Movie Review

Movie: War Horse
Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Peter Mullan
Rated: PG-13
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

*****************************************

Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine) has his eyes on this thoroughbred horse...only thing is, he knows it will never be his. His family is poor; they don't even have enough rent money. His father, Ted, (Peter Mullan) is out getting a plough horse so they can plant a field of turnips....and pay their debts. But in a moment of drunkenness and one upmanship, Ted buys the thoroughbred...much to wife, Rose's, (Emily Watson) dismay. Ted knows that it won't plough the field, but Albert is determined to make Joey (what he dubs the steed) earn his keep.

Believe it or not, he does. Albert trains his beloved horse to pull a plough and plant the field. It appears as if everything is rosy, yet a little event called World War I comes calling. The said turnip field has been destroyed due to a rainstorm, thus destroying the Narracott's means of payment. Ted, in order to pay his debts, takes Joey and sells him to Captain Nicholls (played by an underused Tom Hiddleston)....all unbeknownst to Albert. Albert learns of the transaction too late, but Captain Nicholls vows to protect Joey and return him when the war is over.

*******************************************************************************

Rare is it that I sit through a movie going..."I hate this. I hate this." But I'm not going to lie, there were quite a few moments where I was doing this. You see, I have a low tolerance for animals in pain. I cannot watch ASPCA commercials; I change the channel. It's a good thing I don't go to the humane society or else I would want to take every single one of those animals home with me. I'm sensitive. No, I don't endorse PETA, but animals being hurt is tough for me.

I wouldn't necessarily classify War Horse as a film in how we would classify a film--you know with one protagonist, an antagonist, etc. We more get little vignettes as Joey changes owners throughout the course of the war. Personally, I would have wished for more screen time with a couple of them; there was the potential to see how the war affected the humans in the story. The original owner of Joey, Albert, is shown at the beginning of the film and then at nearly the end. I would have liked to have seen status of him and his family throughout the film's two hour and fifteen minute duration.

It is going to sound terrible, but my favorite thing in this movie is the cinematography. I sat at the theatre wishing I was in the United Kingdom; seriously, it is on my bucket list to go there someday. Also, the filming of the war sequences was very well done. Though considering the fact that Steven Spielberg directed it, I am not surprised.

Joey goes through a lot in this film. In one instance, he is forced to pull German cannons up a hill. They are too heavy for the poor horse and you see the struggle kill many a steed. (Thankfully, when they get shot, it's outside of the camera's range.) Another time, Joey runs into, and gets tangled up in, a fence of barbed wire. The poor boy is so hurt; I wanted to jump through the screen and take care of him. I do war movies--I mean, this latest season of Downton Abbey is amazing despite it taking place in WWI. But animals don't do pain well...so if you are sensitive to that sort of thing, I would say avoid the movie.

It does have a happy ending. And they are positive rays on sunlight in the film. Though they are precious few....that being said, I still managed to bawl ;-)