Horse Girl
Written by Jeff Baena and Alison Brie
Directed by Jeff Baena Starring Alison Brie, Debby Ryan, John Reynolds and Molly Shannon
Running time 1 hour and 44 minutes
MPAA Rating R for language and some sexuality, graphic nudity and drug use
by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport
“Is there a test to see if I am a clone?”
The main character Sarah (Alison Brie) in Horse Girl is someone that I, undoubtedly, would be friends with.
Her affinity for arts & crafts, the paranormal, aliens, horses, vintage fashion and supernatural crime tv programs, left me questioning whether I was being spied on. Much like me, Sarah’s hobbies outnumber her friends. Also similarly, her ideal Friday night consists of making friendship bracelets, sipping white wine and watching her favorite investigators battle yet another ghostly presence. However, despite the creativity and originality that went into this script, by the end I found myself extremely frustrated.
Horse Girl, is a flick that bites off more than it can chew. As the run time ticked by, the plethora of details continued to emerge taking the plot down a never ending rabbit hole. Sarah is first introduced at her craft store job (think JoAnn’s/AcMoore, RIP). Her nerdy obsession with the merchandise, social awkwardness and interest for her coworker Joan’s (Molly Shannon) DNA testing kit was enough to show that this is not your run of the mill gal. It is hard not to find this particular character charming, yet peculiar. When a love interest, Darren (John Reynolds) is introduced-who coincidentally shares the same name as Sarah’s TV detective crush from her fave show Purgatory-it appears the story will go in a rom com direction. Instead, this is where the story goes off the rails.
A first date that entails discussion of paranormal conspiracy theories by candlelight, spying on a mystery man™ (that Sarah claims to have been abducted by aliens with and sees in her lucid dreams as she sleepwalks) and a graveyard visit with the goal of digging up her mother’s body with a pair of scissors due to needing a sample of her DNA to confirm that she is indeed a clone. I am no stranger to such a night on the town, ask Benjamin if you don’t believe me. There’s only one way to describe such a night: “batshit crazy”. It takes a “special” person to appreciate such an evening, or hypnosis.
I’m not the type of person that is looking for a flick to be packaged up and tied with a bow. I feel it is acceptable, and often enjoyable, to leave portions of the story open ended and left for self interpretation. The Horse Girl script seemed to have galloped away from the writing team of Brie and director, Jeff Baena, taking with it any sense of coherence. I’ve watched some of the other flicks Baena has penned such as: The Little Hours and I Heart Huckabees, and was ready to embrace the prospective unconventional narrative. Unfortunately, ideas and characters are introduced that seemingly disappear or go nowhere. At one point, we learn of a tragic horse accident that Sarah experienced involving a young girl and that her mother committed suicide. Two heavy subjects that are treated as trivial details. Frankly, I will always be haunted that she never went to have her fortune read after meeting a psychic at the craft store. As much as this would have added yet another piece to the story line, at least there would have been a crystal ball involved.
Unlike what is typically the case at Sundahhhhhce, immediately following the film I had time to ruminate as I trekked through the snowy streets of Park City to the next theater. My attempt to piece together this puzzle of a story led me to one conclusion; it was simply attempting too much and got lost in its own cleverness. Is it a story about mental health, specifically depression and anxiety? Paranoia? Quirky love? Loneliness? In a way it is about all of these things. Sadly it did not find a way to weave it together, leaving the final product disappointing.
This flick was one of my most anticipated at the festival. Even knowing that it was going to be dropping on Netflix, February 7th didn’t keep me away, as I was drawn to the overall unconventional description. It may not have lived up to the hype, but I am not giving up on Alison Brie.