The word "whisperer" is slapped on to obstreperous subjects ? dogs, ghosts, U.S. presidents, what have you ? to denote someone skilled at reining them in. The trope began with The Horse Whisperer, a 1998 weepy directed by and starring Robert Redford. He plays Tom Booker, a Montana wrangler/Zen master who helps a tomboy named Grace ( Scarlett Johansson, then 13) and her horse, Pilgrim, overcome the trauma of a riding accident that left her leg partially amputated.
Based on the 1995 best-seller by Nicholas Evans, the movie was the first to feature Redford on both sides of the camera. It was also Johansson's first starring role in a studio picture. (She had earned a Spirit award nomination for the 1996 indie Manny & Lo.)
The shoot was not without its controversies: While trainer Buck Brannaman, who inspired the title character, served as a technical consultant, the final cut contained several horse-training no-nos, including Redford wearing a large ring ? a sure way to lose a finger. The film drew high marks from THR, which called it a "vital, subtle story" and singled out its trio of leads ? Kristin Scott Thomas rounds things out as Grace's workaholic mom ? as its strongest asset. "Johansson is winning," the review noted. "She gains our sympathies as a young girl whose future has been horribly changed." Richard LaGravanese, who co-wrote the screenplay (he also adapted 1995's The Bridges of Madison County), says Johansson "brought a heartache to the part that seemed to come from experience beyond her years."
The $80 million movie was a hit for Touchstone, earning $187 million globally ($280 million today). Johansson's films have earned $3.6 billion, making her the highest-grossing actress of all time. She next headlines Ghost in the Shell, based on the Japanese manga property, out March 31.
