★★★ (3 out of 4)
Most major studio movies (read expensive) wouldn’t dare risk going up against “The Odyssey” this weekend for fear of being treated like canon fodder by Christopher Nolan’s global box-office juggernaut. But there is always room for a small, indie movie good enough to squeeze in for those who don’t need to have everything supersized.
So step up for “Horsegirls,” a mini gem of a movie that focuses on Margarita, a 22-year-old autistic woman faced with the pressures of early adulthood, her first job, and the uncertainty surrounding her mother's health. The logline for the film reads: “When Margarita discovers the world of competitive hobby horse dancing, what starts as curiosity becomes a lifeline of movement, craft, and community. As she trains and finds her footing among people who provide encouragement and care, Margarita gains greater confidence and autonomy, creating a future shaped less by expectation and more by her own rhythm, choices, and joy.”
OK, that sounds more than a bit TV movie of the week-ish, nourishing like vegetables but nothing to get your mojo going. To which I say, beware first impressions. As played with humor and hard-edged sass by autistic actress Lillian Carrier, Margarita turns out to be a no-filter fireball who you underestimate at your peril. Sure, Margarita worries about the cancer diagnosis the doctor just laid on her karaoke-loving mother, Sandy (a heartfelt Gretchen Mol doing wonders). This daughter knows mom’s chemotherapy is not to be trivialized. But damn, this neurodivergent diva has no plans to be a bullied by the mean tweens at work and school.
Even the make believe in this film has an authenticity that comes at you full gallop. Why resist?
Employment is a nowhere job at a Halloween store where the manager (Iqbal Theba) offers unforced encouragement if not exactly the keys to a prosperous future. It’s around the store that Margarita catches a hobbyhorse team doing a practice session. By way of explanation, hobby horsing is an organized athletic sport that simulates equestrian disciplines—such as show jumping, dressage, and trail riding—while using a toy horse on a stick. Requiring intense physical stamina, participants perform the exact trotting, galloping, and jumping gaits of a horse entirely on foot. Try it and see if you can tough it out.
It’s sad at first to watch Margarita (her name finally does get an explanation) try to persuade the coach, played by the tough and terrific Jerod Haynes, to give her a spot on the team. But her pleas fall on deaf ears. And there’s much worse from the mean girls who have no faith in Margarita’s hand-eye coordination. It’s no wonder Margarita prefers breaking into stables for the company of the real horses she adores since they offer no judgment. “Horsegirls” can drift into whimsy at times, but you stick with it like you stick with Margarita.
Working from a script loosely based on the experiences of co-writer and producer Mackenzie Breeden, first-time director Lauren Meyering has a field day letting us watch Margarita learn the ropes of this admittedly bizarro exercise. It’s a real competitive sport (Google it), no matter how silly you might think it looks. At first...
Ands that’s the joy and the surprise of “Horsegirls;” it’s not just a metaphor for finding your place in the world but as a way into understanding how disability might be a stepping stone into a deeper kind of understanding. Let “Horsegirls” catch you unawares. Even the make believe in this film has an authenticity that comes at you full gallop. Why resist?