Baena & Brie’s Horse Girl: Whoa, Nelly!

If you’ve been keeping up with Netflix’s menu of early 2020 original releases, then you’ve probably heard/seen something about Jeff Baena’s Horse Girl, co-written by and starring powerhouse actress, Alison Brie. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what this film was about before actually sitting down to watch it — either a sweet and innocent take on a girl’s obsession with horses, or a horror film about some human-animal hybrid. Well, this film is definitely not either one of those things. However, since I knew that it was female-centric and co-written by Brie, I thought it would be a good fit for an Incluvie review.

*This review may contain spoilers*

If you aren’t content with going into this film blind (although I think it provides for a less inhibited viewing experience), I’ll provide you with a bit of context. Sarah (Brie) is a quiet, shy, and emotionally fragile woman who has become increasingly reclusive following her mother’s death. She works in a craft store, goes to Zumba class, frequently visits her old horse at the stables where it is housed, and comes home to her apartment to watch reruns of the same sci-fi/crime procedural show every night. After having a dream that leads her to believe she has been abducted and cloned by aliens, we see her grow more awkward and socially-inept. The few existing relationships she has begin to deteriorate rapidly as she becomes more and more mentally unstable and adamant on proving that she isn’t “crazy.” This leads to her getting into some dangerous and upsetting predicaments. Sounds great, right?

While there are a few lighter moments throughout, the majority of the film is one, big, hard-hitting psychological drama that paints a vivid picture of the struggle with mental illness. Because the film is tethered so closely to Sarah’s individual experience, the story-telling and visuals can be confusing and disorienting. We don’t always know what’s “real” or what Sarah is imagining — what is reality and what is her perception. We are presented with paradoxes, time loops, missing information, and dream sequences that are as confusing and frustrating for us as they are for our protagonist. Although this might not sound like the most desirable trait for a film to have, that is exactly what I find so magical about it. We are put in the same head-space as this person and are more apt to empathize with her. It also just provides a non-traditional narrative format that I found very refreshing and unpredictable.

One of the many scenes in which Sarah showers to try and refocus herself…which usually ends up leading to her losing a huge chuck of time in which she can’t remember what has happened.

Tonally and visually, I think the film is very nuanced and carefully crafted. Sarah’s world looks and feels cold and sterile to emulate her lack of genuine connection with others, her sexual inexperience, and her overall loneliness. The musical score is also very good — you get all of these weird, “alien”-sounding songs that emphasize how surreal Sarah’s experiences are. The acting and dialogue work so well with the situations presented in the script that it effectively makes you feel the extreme awkwardness of the situation — almost to a tangible effect. While watching some of these scenes of Sarah interacting with different people (asking friends to hang out, flirting with a guy, etc.), I felt so embarrassed for her that it caused me physical anxiety. I think this is even more impressive when you consider that all of the film’s actual dialogue was ad-libbed while filming. I was honestly blown away by this fact because it all seems “well-written.” The fact that Baena and the actors were able to achieve such convincing dialogue and performances in the moment is extremely commendable.

While I cannot say that Horse Girl is culturally/racially diverse — there is only one non-white featured actor in the entire film (John Ortiz as Ron) — it does do a lot for combating the stigma that surrounds mental illness and the representation of women who suffer from it. Not only does it portray a young woman’s struggle with succumbing to her illness, but it was written by one who has also been affected by mental illness. Alison Brie has discussed how this script was influenced by her own experiences with her grandmother’s paranoid schizophrenia, her mother’s depression, and even her own depression (Vulture). This is such an honest and personal representation of:

1. What it’s like to be a woman who struggles with mental illness
2. What it’s like to have family members with mental illness
3. What it’s like to fear the effects of mental illness

It speaks volumes toward the current push to de-stigmatize mental health issues. As a female who suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and has a history of mental illness in my family, I feel like this movie was made for people like me. I also consider it an educational tool for those who don’t suffer from mental illness or those who underestimate its effects.

I don’t want to give away too many details, because I do highly recommend this film and want everyone to experience it in an organic way. It is one that will confuse you, make you uncomfortable, and possibly make your heart break just a little for this poor horse girl. It definitely warrants more than just one viewing.