Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, August 8, 1994                   TAG: 9408100036
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

"BLACK BEAUTY" DIRECTOR IS FULL OF HORSE SENSE

Like the novel it's based on, this is the story of a horse, told from the horse's point of view.

In first-person voice-over narration (by Alan Cumming), Black Beauty looks back over his life and tells the audience what it was like to be a working horse in late 19th-century England. First-time writer/director Caroline Thompson was taking a big chance with that approach. Some viewers may not be able to make the initial suspension of disbelief that's necessary to appreciate the story. Those who do will be richly rewarded.

Black Beauty (well-played by Justin, an American Quarter Horse trained by Rex Peterson) spends his youth and adolescence on a farm under the gentle care of Farmer Grey (Sean Bean). That upbringing gives him an optimistic, trusting personality that he never completely loses, even under the most difficult circumstances.

And he does encounter many troubles in his eventful life. Perhaps the most difficult involve the vacuous Earl of Wexmire (Peter Cook) and his vain wife (Eleanor Bron). One of the most important people later is Jerry Barker (David Thewlis), driver of a horsedrawn cab. Viewers who know Thewlis only as the fierce Johnny in ``Naked'' may not recognize him here.

Caroline Thompson got uniformly fine performances from the human members of her cast and she did just as well on the equine side. Working with set designer John Box (``Lawrence of Arabia,'' ``Doctor Zhivago,'' etc.) and director of photography Alex Thomson (``Excalibur''), she did a remarkable job of recreating London and rural England of the 1870s. The film has the rich textures that are necessary for a period piece.

It also has the passion of the original novel. In part, the film is a Dickensian indictment of the ways humans - through ignorance or malice - mistreat animals. Thompson is not a crusader; she's a storyteller, also responsible for the scripts of ``Edward Scissorhands'' and ``The Nightmare Before Christmas.'' The emotional content of her film is strong - and it's helped considerably by Danny Elfman's evocative score - but Thompson doesn't overplay it.

Moviegoers predisposed to horses and horse stories are the natural audience for ``Black Beauty,'' but the film should develop a broader appeal. Recommended for kids and families.