The Horse Whisperer (1998)

All Critics (57) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (15) | DVD (6)

Directing himself for the first time, Redford has lavished his usual meticulous care on popular material that comes alive on the screen in ways that it never could on the page.

November 8, 2007 Full Review

Todd McCarthy

Variety

Top Critic

This has loads of craft and honor but never quite takes off.

November 8, 2007 Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

We are not talking postmodern or even modern here, but the best kind of old-fashioned.

April 27, 2007 Full Review

Andrew Sarris

New York Observer

Top Critic

It's a film-maker's love letter to himself.

June 24, 2006 Full Review

Time Out

Top Critic

That lack of identifiable passion is The Horse Whisperer's most vexing problem.

February 14, 2001 Full Review

Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

Top Critic

...an intelligent, lush-looking tale...

January 1, 2000 Full Review

Susan Stark

Detroit News

Top Critic

Maintains a spiritual atmosphere and decent hold on personal problems, keeping the long journey to the cure compelling, with enough flashes of Heaven on Earth to bewitch even the most disengaged viewer.

September 28, 2012 Full Review

Brian Orndorf

Blu-ray.com

Like Jaws, Carrie and The Bridges of Madison County, director Robert Redford's screen version of Nicholas Evans' smash bestseller has largely been deemed one of those rarities: a movie that improves on its source material.

July 13, 2012 Full Review

Matt Brunson

Creative Loafing

Curl your cynical lip if you want, but there's a place for heartwarming, life-affirming, even weepy dramas.

November 8, 2007 Full Review | Comments (2)

Maitland McDonagh

TV Guide's Movie Guide

I found it to be a compelling, adult film that transports you into another world.

April 9, 2005 Full Review

Laura Clifford

Reeling Reviews

A lovely piece of filmmaking.

May 14, 2003

Jeanne Aufmuth

Palo Alto Weekly

This is a beautiful movie, but not for those in a hurry.

March 16, 2003 Full Review

Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

Robert Redford has done it again.

February 8, 2003 Full Review

John R. McEwen

Film Quips Online

For such a long meal it certainly isn't very filling.

January 10, 2003 Full Review

Nick Davis

Nick's Flick Picks

Despite its flaws, The Horse Whisperer is a marvel -- in its artistry, its love of place, and its tender regard for broken hearts.

October 15, 2002 Full Review

Margaret A. McGurk

Cincinnati Enquirer

The Horse Whisperer is a calculated heart-tugging machine, as soulless and efficient in its own way as Twister or Independence Day; instead of a 'thrill-ride,' it's a trip through the tunnel of love.

June 5, 2002 Full Review

Cathy Thompson-Georges

Boxoffice Magazine

Tutors us in the art of slowing down, being present, and quieting the heart.

March 2, 2002 Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality and Practice

Redford is obviously a romantic at heart, and he brings a light touch to the erotic moments in the film.

February 27, 2001 Full Review

James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

• 1. Robert McLean: I stood there looking at that horse, and I swear I felt like the same thing was happening to me. I could either fight the way things are, or I could accept them.
  – Submitted by Frances H (5 months ago)
• 1. Tom Booker: Grace, this is Pilgrim's chance, and it's yours too.
  – Submitted by Frances H (5 months ago)
• 1. Diane Booker: Tom's a good man. He's got a gift, I swear it's from Heaven above. But he's just a man.
  – Submitted by Frances H (5 months ago)
• 1. Annie MacLean: We lived all over.
  2. Ellen Booker: Sometimes it (home) is more a place on the inside than the outside.
  – Submitted by Frances H (5 months ago)
• 1. Annie MacLean: Long before he used horses for his labors, he killed them for meat.The alliance with man would forever be fragile,for the fear he'd struck into their hearts was too deep to be dislodged. Since that Neolithic moment when a horse was first haltered, their were those among men who understood this. They could see into the creatures soul and soothe the wounds they found there. The secrets muttered softly into troubled ears. These men were known as the whisperers.
  – Submitted by Frances H (5 months ago)

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