Steven Spielberg’s War Horse is a war movie that refuses to let the war steal the spotlight. That might sound like a boast, but it is the film’s central problem. Joey, the bay Irish Hunter at the center of the story, is not a metaphor for anything. He is a horse, and the film treats him as one. This is a film about a bond between a boy and his horse, and about how that bond survives a war that tries to erase it. It is not a film about the war itself.
The film opens in Devon in 1912, where a bay Irish Hunter colt is born. Farmer Ted Narracott outbids his landlord Lyons for the colt at auction, to the dismay of his wife Rose, who wanted a working horse that could plough. Their son Albert, with his best friend Andrew, names the colt Joey and teaches him to come when he imitates an owl’s call. The horse and boy bond, plough a rocky field, and save the family’s farm. Rose shows Albert his father’s medals, including a Distinguished Conduct Medal from the Second Boer War, and gives him Ted’s regimental pennant, confiding that his father carries physical and mental scars from the war.
When war with Germany is declared in 1914, heavy rain ruins the family’s crops, forcing Ted to sell Joey to an army officer, Captain James Nicholls. Albert is too young to enlist, and he ties the pennant to Joey’s bridle, promising he will eventually find him. Joey bonds with Topthorn, a black stallion, and the horses are deployed to Flanders with a flying column. They face a German encampment guarded by hidden machine guns. Nicholls and most of the cavalrymen are killed, and the Germans capture the horses.
A young man named Gunther tends to two horses, Joey and Topthorn, while serving as a volunteer. His brother Michael, who is younger, is then assigned to the fighting, and Gunther abandons his post with him atop the horses. The German army takes the pair into custody and puts them to death, leaving the horses without care. The next day, a French girl called Emilie discovers them and conceals them in her bedroom at her grandfather’s farm, keeping them safe from German soldiers.
Trailer, via Amblin Entertainment.
Joey and Albert
At the center of War Horse sits the bond between Albert and Joey, and Joey is not merely a stand-in for the war; he is a living presence, treated as such by the film. The film’s strongest scenes come from Albert teaching Joey to plough, and from their time together in the field. These moments are simple and quiet, and they succeed because the film fully commits to them.
In his first feature film, Jeremy Irvine plays Albert. Hundreds of young boys were seen by Spielberg before he chose Irvine, who made the cut after a cold reading that Spielberg called “very natural, very authentic.”. Irvine auditioned for two months, going in two or three times a week, and found out he had the part when he was asked to read a piece of the script on camera to check his West Country accent. The piece of mockup script he read was Albert telling Joey that Spielberg wanted him to play the part.
The film’s cast features Peter Mullan as Ted Narracott and Emily Watson as Rose, with Niels Arestrup as Grandfather and David Thewlis as Lyons. Tom Hiddleston plays Capt. James Nicholls, while Benedict Cumberbatch takes on Maj. Jamie Stewart. Céline Buckens appears as Emilie, Toby Kebbell as Geordie Soldier, Patrick Kennedy as Lt. Charlie Waverly, Leonard Carow as Michael, and David Kross as Gunther. All these performers are European, with British, French and German actors portraying characters from their own countries.
The Supporting Cast
A solid cast carries this film, and it grants each actor room for standout sequences. Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch both receive scenes that reveal their breadth. David Thewlis gets a scene that reads as a small tragedy, while Peter Mullan brings a weary anger to Ted. Emily Watson plays Rose with a quiet dignity that grounds the film’s quieter stretches. The picture works best when it allows these performers to breathe.
A number of actors worth noting appeared in the film:
- Robert Emms, who played Albert Narracott in the West End stage version of the play, was cast as David Lyons.
- A large number of 5,800 extras were employed, and casting for these roles took place in Devon during late July 2010.
- The granddaughter of Captain Budgett, one of the World War I veterans whose service inspired Morpurgo to write the story, served as an extra in the scenes shot in Castle Combe.
- Morpurgo himself filmed a cameo role at that location, alongside his wife Clare.
The War Around Them
War Horse keeps the war always on screen, yet seldom makes it the main thing. The movie cares more about the humans Joey encounters along the way than about the fighting itself. He gets sold into service, taught cavalry skills, taken prisoner by the Germans, and set free by Emilie. Every stage of his trip depends on what people do to him, rather than on any plan of war.
The film’s depiction of the war is uneven. The cavalry charge is staged with spectacle, but it lacks the weight of the horses’ fate. The execution of Gunther and Michael is shown off-screen, which keeps the film from fully committing to the violence it is describing. The film is better at showing the war’s effects on people than at showing the war itself.
“Separated by war. Tested by battle. Bound by friendship.”
The film’s central idea is that a shared past can endure even as the war tears two people apart. Albert and Joey are separated by the conflict, tested by it, and eventually brought back together through that very bond. The movie relies on this connection to carry its story, and for the most part, the approach works.
The Production
The production of War Horse shot in England across 63 days. It employed 5,800 extras alongside 300 horses. A number of longtime collaborators who had worked with Spielberg returned for the film, among them producer Kathleen Kennedy, cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, editor Michael Kahn, production designer Rick Carter, and composer John Williams.
In December 2009, DreamWorks Pictures secured the film rights to Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel, and Spielberg was attached to direct in May 2010. That made it his first movie to deal with World War I, though he had previously helmed several films set during World War II. The film was released internationally under the Touchstone Pictures label, distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
The Reception
The movie War Horse earned a significant amount at the box office, taking in $177 million on a budget of $70 million. Audiences and critics alike responded positively to the film. In the year 2011, it was included among the ten best films of that year by the America.
The film’s strengths are its visual craftsmanship and its commitment to its central relationship. Its weaknesses are its tendency to soften the war’s harshness and its occasional reliance on spectacle over substance.
What Works
The film’s best scenes are the ones that focus on Albert and Joey. The scenes of Albert teaching Joey to plough, of the two of them bonding over the field, are the film’s best moments. They are simple, quiet, and they work because the film commits to them fully.
The cast is a real asset here. Jeremy Irvine makes for a natural lead, while the rest of the ensemble turns in steady, reliable performances across the board. Every technical element behind the scenes matches that caliber, with production design, cinematography, and score all working together to produce a finished film of high quality.
What Doesn’t Work
The film’s weakest moments come when it tries to be a war movie. The cavalry charge is staged with spectacle, but it lacks the weight of the horses’ fate. The execution of Gunther and Michael is shown off-screen, which keeps the film from fully committing to the violence it is describing. The film is better at showing the war’s effects on people than at showing the war itself.
The movie’s sentimentality can go too far. Joey is a horse, and he is treated as one, yet the film frequently relies on the notion of Joey as a symbol of innocence or purity. That symbolism can come across as forced, particularly since the story is already focused on a boy and his horse.
The Verdict
War Horse is a film about a bond between a boy and his horse, and about how that bond survives a war that tries to erase it. It is not a film about the war itself. The film’s strengths are its visual craftsmanship and its commitment to its central relationship. Its weaknesses are its tendency to soften the war’s harshness and its occasional reliance on spectacle over substance.
This is a well-made, emotionally engaging film that occasionally loses sight of the story it is trying to tell. The bond between Albert and Joey serves as the film’s anchor, and when the film stays anchored to that bond, it succeeds. When it drifts toward spectacle or symbolism, it falters.
The movie earns its reputation thanks to how seriously it takes its main bond. It centers on a boy and his horse, and the filmmakers honor that connection with real attention.
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