Equus (1977)
A young man turns a troubled childhood into a bizarre affliction confusing love and worship and horses and best friends in a strange, surreal, beautiful, confounding mashup.
Is this movie about psychology? Philosophy? Fantasy?
Are we watching the younger main character, the troubled youth played by Peter Firth? Or is this a roundabout way to see the older one, a seemingly untroubled psychiatrist played by Richard Burton?
I don't think there are answers exactly here, and that's probably a good thing. It's not really a movie that sets out to explain things, but simply to reveal a fascinating situation from the inside, from the inside of their heads, even, as much as possible.
But okay. Being in love, somehow, with horses, or with the idea of horses, or both, and acting on that love, is weird, and so kind of fun in a sensationalist way. Unfortunately, the movie makes this whole condition and its meaning grandiose. When it explores the young man's passions, his entrapment at home, or his really sympathetic state of mind (never mind how he twists it cruelly), it's strong. But when it becomes this giant problem for mankind, larger than Shakespeare, a hugely disturbing and hyped up situation fraught with world rattling significance? Well, it's just indulgent and almost laughable. Yes, the way these extremes are filmed and reenacted and imagined is both beautiful, and at one point, shockingly violent. But it isn't enough.
Fortunately, Burton is one of those deeply committed, vibrant and convincing actors who can raise up a movie like this. "Equus" is a good movie, sometimes a fantastic movie, inventive and intimate and exploratory. Firth (largely a television actor) is quite a sympathetic character and he plays his role with abandonment, to his credit.
If you love horses, you might think this movie is up your alley, but beware on that score, because of the violence. If you love psychology, there is a curious pathology explored here, and that might hold water. If you love Burton, you're in for a treat. He's terrific.
A young man turns a troubled childhood into a bizarre affliction confusing love and worship and horses and best friends in a strange, surreal, beautiful, confounding mashup.
Is this movie about psychology? Philosophy? Fantasy?
Are we watching the younger main character, the troubled youth played by Peter Firth? Or is this a roundabout way to see the older one, a seemingly untroubled psychiatrist played by Richard Burton?
I don't think there are answers exactly here, and that's probably a good thing. It's not really a movie that sets out to explain things, but simply to reveal a fascinating situation from the inside, from the inside of their heads, even, as much as possible.
But okay. Being in love, somehow, with horses, or with the idea of horses, or both, and acting on that love, is weird, and so kind of fun in a sensationalist way. Unfortunately, the movie makes this whole condition and its meaning grandiose. When it explores the young man's passions, his entrapment at home, or his really sympathetic state of mind (never mind how he twists it cruelly), it's strong. But when it becomes this giant problem for mankind, larger than Shakespeare, a hugely disturbing and hyped up situation fraught with world rattling significance? Well, it's just indulgent and almost laughable. Yes, the way these extremes are filmed and reenacted and imagined is both beautiful, and at one point, shockingly violent. But it isn't enough.
Fortunately, Burton is one of those deeply committed, vibrant and convincing actors who can raise up a movie like this. "Equus" is a good movie, sometimes a fantastic movie, inventive and intimate and exploratory. Firth (largely a television actor) is quite a sympathetic character and he plays his role with abandonment, to his credit.
If you love horses, you might think this movie is up your alley, but beware on that score, because of the violence. If you love psychology, there is a curious pathology explored here, and that might hold water. If you love Burton, you're in for a treat. He's terrific.