After half a century being in the business of making crowd pleasing, emotional classics, Steven Spielberg hasn't had a month quite as busy as this one. With two releases coming out within a week of each other, watching them side by side makes it easy to tell which one was done for fun, and which is a good ol' fashioned reach for Academy Award attention. The latter would be War Horse, a sprawling, family geared fairy tale about a horse's noble journey through WWI.
Essentially, War Horse is indeed a war film, and those elements are as perfectly detailed as Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. Unfortunately, there's a heavy dose of schmaltzy Disney Channel stuff that never connects. Based on the acclaimed children's book which became an even more acclaimed stage play, War Horse is basically Benji Goes to War...with hooves. The story begins with the unusual bond between Albert(Jeremy Irvine) and a feisty young colt named Joey. Never bred to be a plow horse, he is nonetheless purchased by Albert's drunkard of a father(Peter Mullan), to the chagrin of his mother(Emily Watson). Their entire livelihood rests on Joey being strong enough to plow their rocky fields. Albert and Joey bond through the rigorous workload, but with the mounting debts and war looming on the horizon, it isn't long before the horse is sold into service.
Joey may a darn fine beast to behold, especially with Spielberg's gorgeous, widescreen style of filmmaking, but he's a curse to every human who owns him throughout the story. That might not be how the screenwriters intend it, but that's how it is nonetheless. Joey finds himself bouncing from owner to owner, ending up on virtually every side of the military conflict. There's the strong and courageous Captain Nicholls(Tom Hiddleston), who is the only to understand the bond between Joey and Albert, sending his personal drawings of the horse in action. After a disastrous charge against a German unit, Joey winds up in the hands of two deserters, then an old man(the great Niels Arestrup) and his granddaughter.
It's possible for the animal hero of a film to evoke a strong emotional response. We've seen it many times before in any number of movies. But for that to be accomplished, the people who are crucial to the animal's story must be fully realized characters. Albert can't speak for himself, so what is necessary is for the humans of the story to properly, and believably, reflect how affected they are by him. Unfortunately, nobody in this film gets the opportunity to do that, thanks to a junky script that has everyone speaking in platitudes. The greatest culprit is Jeremy Irvine, who besides not having realistic dialogue to work with, comes across as an emotionless statue. Considering the entire film is reliant on you investing in emotional connection to Joey, this is a hurdle too great to overcome.
Spielberg seems most comfortable depicting The Great War, and the bonding that takes place in the blood soaked, mud filled trenches. If this were a war film, totally left up to Spielberg's narrative devices, War Horse would be a triumph. Unfortunately he's hamstrung by the material, which is too precious to be effective. While there are some tough moments where Joey is put through some grueling paces(the worst involving barbed wire), you also get squeaky clean mush like two opposing battalions throwing aside the war just to help the injured animal. Yeah right.
Backed John Williams' inspiration score, Spielberg's ability to create picturesque images continues to be as effective as ever. War Horse is breathtakingly beautiful, with lush images of our equine hero racing against the setting sun. Often, the film takes on the glory of a painter's masterpiece set into motion. When it comes to crafting epic, nostalgic tales like War Horse, Spielberg continues to be one of the best. It's just unfortunate there wasn't enough genuine emotion in the story to make it the Oscar hopeful he so clearly intended.
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