You’ll want to saddle up for ‘Horsegirls’
Cancer and autism are challenges I know a lot about because I continue to live with them both, which – I suppose – offers me a unique perspective on the profound, utterly charming “Horsegirls.” It’s not just an accomplished writing-directing debut by Lauren Meyering; it’s also a splendid showcase for her infectious, neurodivergent star, Lillian Carrier, stealing scenes to a degree that she should be indicted for grand larceny.
What I like most about Carrier is the authenticity she exudes in delivering one of the best portrayals of us spectrum folks since Claire Danes in the Emmy-winning “Temple Grandin.” She’s a natural. But what I like most about her is how she so steadfastly refuses to play either the helpless victim or the sainted savant, which frustratingly is often an either/or prospect in productions pretending to champion autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Carrier’s Margarita (she was named after what her parents were drinking the night she was conceived) has her basketful of quirks, such as refusing to wear “hard pants” and, my personal bugaboo, ambient noise. But they don’t define the 22-year-old college grad. They are just a part of who she is, society be damned. And, like me, she is short on tact, often choosing honesty over politeness. We austies tend to blurt things out, you know, often fortified with colorful adjectives.
Our greatest gift, though, just might be our ability to roll with the punches, transforming adversity into motivation, a quality Margarita thrives on, especially when she serendipitously discovers her true calling: hobby-horsing. Yes, it’s really a thing. There are even sporting competitions in which teams perform precision routines, called dressage, that involve jumps, formations and lots of giddy-up. And Margarita and her trusty steed, Cheeseburger, are so adept at it, they help their much younger teammates choreograph what they and their mentor, Coach (Jerod Haynes), hope will lead them to a championship.
True, the “sports movie” cliches are rampant, right up to the equivalent of “the big game.” But hobby-horsing isn’t a singular activity for Margarita. She also lands a job at a Portland costume shop run by Hank (Iqbal Theba) and his trusty assistant Felix (Matthew Schwab). But even more, she’s an attentive “cancierge” to her devoted, always fretting, single mom, whose Stage IV breast cancer threatens to leave Margarita alone in the world. It’s a prospect that consumes her mamacita, Sandy (a superb Gretchen Mol), who fears her daughter will be lost without her.
It’s with that in mind that Sandy pushes Margarita to adopt self-sufficiency and responsibility, traits she believes don’t include hobby-horsing. Her opposition adds yet another frustrating layer of cliché to the script penned by Meyering and Mackenzie Breeden. But Carrier refuses to yield to the tropes, using her effusive personality to counter what proves a highly predictable story arc.
Mol is right there with her, giving the movie a level of energy and heart that can’t help but move you. Even their recurring schtick of performing Don McLean’s “American Pie” at their favorite karaoke restaurant proves stirring, more so as Sandy’s condition worsens.
The result is one of the better parent-daughter tales, sure to become a Mother’s Day staple, assuming this underdog of a picture finds the audience it deserves. It’s neither flashy nor particularly exciting. It’s not even in a widescreen format, an anomaly in this age of IMAX. Heck, what year is it even set? There are cell phones and emails, but the TVs and PC monitors suggest the late 1990s. But does that really matter when a movie is this timeless?
Full disclosure: I screened this wonderful, uplifting tale on the night of the day that I learned I remain cancer-free, two years out from my fifth bout with the heinous disease. Witnessing Sandy’s physical and emotional suffering stirred tears of recognition along with a heavy dose of there but go I. And as a possessor (I’d never say “victim”) of both cancer and autism, I can’t overstate how much I appreciate Meyering in her wholehearted, non-exploitative depictions of both. Even more, I admire the story’s underlying themes about letting go. It’s never easy, but mourning the dead is merely one of the unfortunate costs of living. And the lesson for Margarita and those of us remaining on the right side of the grass is our innate ability to summon the courage to gallop on
Movie review
Horsegirls
Rated: PG-13
Cast: Lillian Carrier, Gretchen Mol, Tony Hale and Jerod Haynes
Director: Lauren Meyering
Writers: Mackenzie Breeden and Lauren Meyering
Runtime: 101 minutes
Where: In theaters July 17 (limited)
Grade: B
