Virginia's Run (2002)

this is like my most favorite movie in the whole world. i love and ride horses. it's such a heart felt movie. i love how it shows some drama and yet it is still a fun movie that you never get tired of. i think Lindze Letherman is such a great actress and she kinda reminds me a lot of myself. shes really headstrong and won't take no for an answer. anyways if you have not sen this movie before go and rent it or something. it's worth watching! you see a lot of horses running and galloping, which is what i love. this is one of those movies, that no matter how many times you've watched it you wanna watch it over again and again. its exciting and full of horses!

Virginia lives with her father and older sister in Maine, where her father is lobsterman. Her mother died recently in a horse riding accident, it seems. Father sold the horse to a neighbor and has forbidden Virginia to ride. This is a harsh sentence for Virginia, as horses are part of her heart and soul. Twister, the sold horse, dies giving birth to a beautiful foal which Virginia names Stormy. In secret, she begins to ride Stormy and continue on her way to becoming an expert horsewoman. A snooty neighbor boy named Darrow does two reprehensible things toward Virginia's family. First, he nearly kills her sister in a reckless driving adventure. And, second, he convinces his father to sell Stormy. Virginia is heartbroken until her father convinces her to work at a nearby horse farm. What will it take for Virginia and, indeed, all of her family to heal from their loss? This is a lovely film for anyone who loves horses or animals. Stormy is indeed a beauty and Virginia is a teenager with spunk and savvy. All of the actors give nice turns in their respective roles. The scenery is also quite beautiful and there is a bit of a romance, too. If you know of someone who worships horses and dreams of owning a horse, this movie will send them into raptures. All others will sit down and enjoy a nice, family-friendly movie with character.

I loved this film...I cannot wait for it to come to theaters in the United States. This is one of those movies that sneaks up on you. At first, you think it is going to be a simple film about a girl and her horse, but it is loaded with action, death-defying action, and really pays off in the end. I saw it in Toronto at the festival....WOW!...the reaction was a standing ovation!!

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** I saw Virginia's Run at the Seattle Film Festival and found myself totally absorbed. The movies it brings to mind are National Velvet and more recently Fly Away Home. The cinematography is beautiful a la The Black Stallion but it is the story that swept me away. A family is recovering from the loss of their mother in a horse accident and the 12 year old daughter is forbidden to ride again by the father, Gabriel Byrne. She helps deliver a foal in the middle of the night (how they did this is beyond me) and she adopts the horse without telling her dad. When the horse is grown she rides him at night, Eventually he finds out, trauma ensues but ut us resolved and in the end she enters a 50 mile endurance race where her chief rival is her sister's boyfriend. The film never has a false moment and the acting is strong across the board. Gabriel Byrne is a wonderful presnece and really anchors the film. JoAnne Whalley plays an outsider who prods him along accepting Virginia's desire to ride and she is very good. I loved the relationship between Virginia and her sister, Caroline who is a few years older and very different in terms of her interests. She is going through the mid-teen sexuality trip which Virginia can't relate to. There is a scene where Caroline reads (actually she has it memorized) her mother's diary that had the entire audience in tears. Actually I counted four times I was drawn to tears. Caroline's boyfriend is cute as hell but a real jerk. And a very effective jerk. You can't wait to see him get squashed. For my kids there was great action. The horse photography is fabulous and the scenery breathtaking. The girl who played Virginia is so spunky and real that she could carry the movie by herself. She doesn't ever overact and is right on the money in every scene. If you want to see a film for the family that isn't in the 'dumb comedy' category or isn't animated film this is the real thing. After the theaters it's going to sell tons of videos.