Black Beauty is a drama film written and directed by Ashley Avis. It is based on the 1877 novel, Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. It stars Mackenzie Foy, Kate Winslet, Iain Glen, and Calam Lynch in main roles. It was released on 27th November 2020 on Disney+ Hotstar.
It's a story about a horse, a fierce wild mustang (voice of Kate Winslet) who is saved by John Manly (Iain Glen) and is brought to the Birtwick Stable. She's hard to break and doesn't cooperate with anyone. Then enters a beautiful girl, Jo (Mackenzie Foy) who just lost her parents, and is forced by the state to stay with her uncle John. There, Jo befriends the wild mustang and names her Beauty. Both have one thing in common, both lost their closed ones and now had to live among strangers. Due to struggling financially, many horses are sold and John leases Beauty out to the rich Winthrops. The daughter of the Winthrops, Georgina (Fern Deacon) is very harsh and cruel to Beauty, whereas the son George (Calam Lynch) is caring and understand the bond between Jo and Beauty, this makes Jo falls for George. It further shows how Beauty has to go through many owners, the hardships, their cruelty and abuses finally reuniting with Jo after many years.
Ashley Avis has also written the screenplay from the book by Anna Sewell. In one word, it's beautiful. Kate Winslet's riveting voice opens the film introducing us to the wild mustang, who just lost her mother in a tragedy, and then Jo who lost her parents, and a bond between the two on such a sturdier base is captivating and emotionally investing too. Avis has also impressively shown the inner feelings of a mustang towards Jo and other horses.
Well, the story never again addresses the tragedy both faced, that's a shame because that could've been more helpful in creating more beautiful moments between Jo and Beauty, and Jo could also have fleshed out more distinctly. Rather than that, it strictly focuses on the bond between the two star leads which offers many heartfelt and emotional moments that are too heavy to handle.
Giving such heartwarming scenes will instantly get you connected to Jo and Beauty and hence the survival of cruelty and torture will make you heartbroken and is enough to make you feel sad for Beauty. However, the people they depicted badly might not that terrible as they presented, but you feel it because inner thoughts of Beauty are constantly thrown at you, which are impactful and leaves you with tears.
In the last half an hour, Jo seems to disappear from the drama, and you will have absolutely no idea where Jo is, or about the relationship of her with George. Even how the stable was restarted, the writer didn't explore that depth just like no idea about what Jo thinks about her parents, the kind of relationship she had with her parents and with her Uncle John. The film precisely follows the easy path, to explore the bond between a mustang and a girl, which is at least done with earnestness, and hence it's moving and compelling.
Mackenzie Foy is has done a fine job as Jo. She has looked very beautiful and her presence is lovely and has given a believable performance. Kate Winslet as the voice of Black Beauty is very impactful. She's convincing and effective in every scene raising out the right emotions and her voice is the best thing in the film. Iain Glen as John and Calam Lynch as George has lent good support and are good in their role
The cinematography by David Procter is brilliant. The film looks mesmerizing and that too in every frame. The scenes with the mustang and Jo are visually appealing and the background scores go perfectly with the mood of the drama. The production design by Darryl Hammer is also of high quality.
Black Beauty is wonderful if you see the intention behind the film. The genuine feelings of a horse so beautifully put forward and the bond of Jo and Beauty and their interactions, are so heavy on emotion, it will make you smile and cry at the same time. It's the film showing the understanding, feeling and compassion of an animal towards other animals and towards humans. I've not read the book, but l liked the film and it is as same as any Disney movie, just being emotional and sweet rather than exploring more complex emotions, which this film surely had enough raw material for doing that.
Rating:- 3/5
Now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
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