Cast - Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, Emily Watson, Tom Hiddleston

Screenwriter – Lee Hall, Richard Curtis

Director – Steven Spielberg

Certificate– 12A

Running Time– 146 mins

A war film.  About a horse.  A war film, about a horse?  Despite the success of the book and particularly the stage play, when it was announced that there was going to be a cinema adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s book, eyes were raised and the question asked.  Just how do you make a serious, live action and successful war film which at the heart of the story, is about a horse?  Well it appears that hiring one of the greatest cinematic storytellers of all time to direct is a pretty good start.  Perhaps this is because the material is pure Spielberg; sentimental, exciting, a child’s connection with another creature in place of a parents affection, in the tradition of a grand sweeping epic. 

Beginning in Devon in 1914, farm boy Albert (Jeremy Irvine) trains and bonds with Joey, the horse that his troubled drunk father (Peter Mullan) spent the family savings on.  After being sold to the British army once war in Europe breaks out, Joey finds himself across the battlefields of France, involved in the lives of two ill-fated young German soldiers, under the care of a young French girl and her grandfather, and in stuck in the middle of No Man’s Land in the Somme.  All the while a devastated Albert is desperate to be reunited with his grand steed.

One of the most striking aspects of War Horse is Janusz Kaminski’s wonderful cinematography, beautifully capturing rural England; playing up to the magical, mythical idea of the ‘English Countryside’ that Hollywood has often referred to.  He lends a traditional Western/John Ford vibe to proceedings, as the horse’s gallops across idyllic backgrounds and landscapes.  Another Spielberg collaborator, and perhaps his most successful one, John Williams, has recorded a score that seems to be constant throughout the film.  While it cannot be classified as one of his best, or one of his more subtle musical scores, it does hit the required emotional notes when needed. 

Spielberg, as he usually does, has pulled out very good performances from his large mainly British ensemble cast.  And what a cast it is!  It is really quite a joy to see such talents as Peter Mullan, Emily Watson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston and Eddie Marsan together on screen, representing the fine crop of British actors we currently are lucky to have on offer.  Jeremy Irvine, who has the most difficult role, manages to connect with the audience, and gives the viewer reason to care about both sides of the human/animal relationship.

Some of his critics have accused Spielberg of playing it safe, both with this choice of film, and the way he has decided to make it.  That it lacks the edge, the chaos, and the honesty of his previous war efforts.  This however isn’t true.  By staying true to the story’s roots as a child’s book, Spielberg couldn’t go down the route of the visceral and violent opening of Saving Private Ryan, or the harrowing truth of Schindler’s List.  But what he has done is cleverly managed to convey the bleakness, the madness and violence of The Great War.  Glimpses of ditches of dead horses, the fate of a young German soldier trying to save his younger brother (climaxing in a masterful shot utilising a windmill), flying bodies in rat infested trenches is no man’s land, the young ill French girl who lost both her parents in the war, and majestic crane shots showing fields of dead soldiers and animals.  Proof that you don’t need to explicitly show violence to convey its power and effect. 

There are faults that can be picked up on, which may halt ones enjoyment.  As with most war films, there are historical inaccuracies, and a few plot developments that may just seem a little too contrived and convenient.  The motif of the Boer War memorial that never seems to get lost in battle, the Europeans characters that speak English, not their native languages and the slow and patient build up to war in Devon may test the tolerance of some.   And your emotional engagement with the film pretty much depends on your willingness to buy into Joey’s story, and be swept along into his adventure.  If you struggle to see past the ‘all this fuss over a horse’ way of thinking, then your emotional response, and probably take on the film as a whole, will be fairly muted.  If you can look past that and see what Joey represents; the last strain of humanity and kindness at time when those qualities were in very short supply, then you may just find War Horse being a surprise early contender for your film of the year.

If you can suspend your disbelief, and let Spielberg take you on a journey through the Great War through the eyes of a horse, then you’ll find Spielberg’s most enjoyable film in years.  And as the finale arrives, in deep red colours reminiscent of the of Gone With The Wind, you may just find something in the corner of your eye.

4/5

 Follow me on Twitter here

Get your tickets for War Horse at FACT here