Missing The Big Picture

Can you criticize a movie adaptation because it doesn't conform to your appreciation of a play, which was itself adapted from a book, a children's novel? That in essence is the logic behind a recent review on the internet of Stephen Spielberg's War Horse, which was given a "Not Recommended."

I haven't seen the stage version of War Horse yet nor have I read the book, by Michael Morpurgo, but I found Mr. Spielberg's adaptation of a children's novel pretty entertaining fare. I was moved as were most in the audience by simple and direct emotional engagement provided by the boy and his horse; the conflicts within the family and their place in society at large; and the cataclysm of the Great War. Yes, this was a three hanky (out of four) movie, but I felt better than I have after leaving many plays! The direction, John Williams' score, and Janusz Kaminski's cinematography are all a cut above the norm as are the performances. Ditto Jeremy Irvine as the boy and the bevy of horses that played Joey et al. Emily Watson is worth watching in any movie, even more so here. Look for Eddie Marsan (Happy Go Lucky BAFTA best supporting actor) as the kindhearted Sergeant at the end.

Adapting a movie from a book, play, or life (biopic or "Based on a True Story") is all about opening the work up: You're looking for a screenplay to unwrap the text - dialogue, motivations, i.e., provide a back story - and spread out the action. To fault a movie for showing actual horses and battle scenes in lieu of the artifice of puppets and design - stage business - under the comforting mantle of "imagination" is to miss the point. The story itself is what the imaginative faculties work on, not the contrivances of the medium; how best to get there is the question. If you really wanted to exercise the audience's imagination, you would forgo the design elements completely and let the script do the talking.

All this was raised long ago (probably before the critic was born) in another great horse movie: Equus. Masked actors stood in for puppets in the stage version, but the use of props, choreography, and creative design elements worked effectively to suspend disbelief. The 1977 movie version, however, realistically portrayed the blinding of animals and there was a howl over how faithful director Sidney Lumet was to the play's message. For me, and doubtless others, the close-ups really got at the psychological dimensions of the characters and story while the medium rendered the violence in shocking clarity. (The all-star cast headed by Richard Burton and Eileen Atkins didn't hurt either.) Why pussyfoot around with the truth, when you can splash it up on the big screen?

Since War Horse was adapted from a children's story, we might ask how faithful it is to the genre. Or better, how would we see it if we were to (imaginatively!) see it through children's eyes? A child would likely respond to the pervasive message of class which bores down from the privileged ranks, through their parents, their mates, and ultimately their farm animals, all powerless and all disposable. To rectify matters, the story has elements of fantasy - magical thinking - where the balance might be equalized if only ... a twist of fate, a higher power, a heroic figure were to be encountered. There are a number of happy coincidences that provide a satisfying resolution when needed, with each "raise in the stakes." Children would also respond to messages of fidelity embedded in the random and chaotic adult world that they daily experience. Theirs is one of rules and fairness that ultimately triumphs over "might makes right" if only in the imaginative land of fiction. Long before the final credits roll, all the young and young at heart will feel that proverbial tug at their heart strings.

"Rotten Tomatoes" movie website has certified War Horse as 77% fresh - critics and audience alike - good for a recommended in most people's view and mine as well. See the movie and catch the show when it takes its victory lap tour in mid 2012. That's the other great thing about viewing the film version: You'll also want to go to see the play. And that's a "Recommendation" we can all agree on.