This autistic girl sure can gallop with a hobby horse.
As we begin to watch the new indie dramedy “Horsegirls,” we see a young autistic girl riding her tricycle and imaging she’s floating as if she has E.T. in the back basket. And there is equine-assisted therapy on autistic people, indicating that the film knows that even horses can connect with autistic people as well as those without the disability. But instead of having its main heroine go horseback riding, it has her engage in hobby horsing. In fact, I didn’t even know it was a thing. I’v always thought that hobby horses were used for plays, not competitions. But I can’t know everything, because if I did I would be a smart ass.
Speaking of autism, I was thinking back to a few years ago, when movie goers overlooked “Ezra,” which was about a comedian and his autistic son. And both that hidden gem and “Horsegirls” are said to be inspired by real characters and choose to be as authentic as they can get. Nobody is insulted in these films, not even me, and we need further proof that we can broaden our horizons and we’re not insignificant. Or certain words I refuse to mention.
We meet Margarita (real life autistic actress Lillian Carrier), a 22-year-old autistic girl, whose breast cancer-stricken mother Sandy (Gretchen Mol) named her that when she and her husband were drunk. You know the math. She wants her daughter to start acting like an adult. Meaning: she needs to get a job, but she doesn’t want to wear an outfit or deal with mean bosses. Who does? She does, however, want to work with horses, even though she hated the lessons when she was younger and even though her mother hates her sneaking around somebody’s horse ranch. That’s why she cuts off her stuffed horse Cheeseburger’s head and puts it on a broom, so she can join a hobby horse class with the no nonsense, but well-meaning coach (Jerod Haynes).
Margarita comes around on the job thing, and applies in person to work at a Halloween store with the kindly Hank (Iqbal Theba) as her boss and the Down syndrome employee Felix (Matthew Schwab with the real disability) as her co-worker. And given the horse hobby competition her class is participating it, she has to sneak out of work early.
And we also get Tony Hale coming in as Sandy’s brother Patrick, who, according to Margarita, usually comes when tragedy strikes. I can’t say how, but Hale is the only other actor I know in the movie besides Mol. As much as I love this actor, I feel that this is the weakest element of the film because he doesn’t seem to contribute a lot to his character.
Carrier is also known for acting in a Freeform sitcom known as “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay,” and she makes her film debut with some versatility. Don’t let her goofy voice make you think she’s annoying, because she isn’t. She struggles to adapt at first, but she learns to be flexible, especially when she knows when to sneak away from her job to go to her hobby horse classes.
And among the gems of her career, Mol was in my favorite of the 2010s: “Manchester by the Sea.” She was great as the drunken mother of Lucas Hedges character, and in “Horsegirls,” she’s every bit as good as that role. She really puts all her emotions as she worries about leaving this Earth with her autistic daughter behind. What parent wouldn’t worry about that? And even through it all, cynicism never takes over.
“Horsegirls” has its heart in the right place, continues to show how autistic people can shine and rise to the occasion, and displays the correct performances to elevate them. Anything is possible with a stuffed horse head on a stick. And I guess even that can connect with an autistic person.
In Select Theaters This Friday