Review: 'War Horse'

Film: War Horse (U/A)
Cast: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Peter Mullan, David Thewlis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Eddie Marsan, Toby Kebbell, Niels Arestrup
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating: ***

After being involved in either the direction or producing of ten films and television miniseries on World War 2, Steven ‘needs no introduction’ Spielberg adapts Michael Morpurgo’s children’s book of the same name, sinking his teeth for the first time into the war to end all wars.

The titular War Horse refers to the spirited steed Joey who is broken (thought to follow rules in horse-rearing lingo) by Devon farm lad Albert Narracott (Irvine). When his father shows up his landlord in an auction for the unruly beast, and can not pay the rent immediately, Albert, in gape-mouthed awe of the creature, puts it on himself to get it to plough a luckless, stony patch of land.

More optimistic than most, his persistence with thoroughbred gets it to requite his love, forming a bond which unfortunately is tragically severed when Albert’s father sells him the army on the eve of the First World War. From there, the horse switches hands, from English to German, to French, braving its way across Europe in a journey that sees much plundering, loss of life and devastation which culminates in the hellish battle of the Somme.

Visually, the even in the bleakest hour, the film is the type of “technicolour extravaganza” that Spielberg ensured Private Ryan wasn’t. The story, unfortunately, is less overwrought than the visuals and replete with sentimentality planted in a colour-by-numbers manner. The director’s grasp of visual storytelling drowns the general hokeyness and the David Lean-esque vistas and Victor Fleming-style colours aren’t too bad either.

The film while emphasising on how bravery in the face of the insanity that is war ought to be celebrated, very sweetly doesn’t indulge in the wholesale demonisation of the Germans (like the pulpy Indiana Jones did) or completely lionise the English. In fact, it follows the tradition of All Quite on the Western Front in questioning the validity of war.

Irvine puts up a good performance as the affectionate, but strong-willed, slack-jawed country boy as does Watson, in a performance that harks back to her Angela’s Ashesrole, as his mother.

War Horse is, at best, decent old-school Hollywood style escapist fare. Watch it for two-time Oscar winner Janusz Kaminski’s wonderful cinematography and John Williams’s magical score.

Though it decries the horrors wrought by mankind’s warmongering tendencies, depth wise, it is no Schindler’s List.