The general feeling of the film was that of a high school play. Much of the acting was sub-par, from just about every character, and the storyline was predictable and slow. Most of the costuming looked like it was made by somebody's mom. The casting of Rachel is questionable, as she looked much too young to be the mother of her two children. The scene where Daniel fell into the river was clearly filmed in two different locations, as there were two different logs, and his slip didn't look natural. The "love scene" dialogue, near the end, I had to fast-forward through it, because I was rolling my eyes. A lot of the dialogue in the film was cringeworthy.
Something that really bothered me was the interaction with the horses. For one thing, horses don't generally have bits in their mouths all day. A bridle and a harness are not the same thing. Whoever was in charge of the horses should have known that. Also, the two main characters apparently had no experience with the animals, which either they had no desire or were afraid, or more likely the filming company didn't want to bother with teaching them. They didn't know how to brush them, and almost every riding scene was from a distance and seemed to require a stunt double. Rachel couldn't even stage an actual dismount. The worst was the scene where Rachel and Daniel were both on horseback... it was the most unnatural-looking "riding" I've ever seen. They bobbed up-and-down in an uneven way and it was clear they weren't actually going anywhere. Huge blow to any attempt at realism. It really wouldn't have been difficult just to ride at a walk. Instead they looked like they were on some kind of bizarre teeter-totter. Maybe simple horseback riding lessons for the main actors just weren't in the budget.
I think what irritated me the most was Rachel's wardrobe... absolutely everything she wore was hideous. Ill-fitting, poorly matched, and completely unflattering. She seemed to have several layers of collars around her neck, and several sets of sleeves. It didn't look right at all and really made no sense whatsoever. I'm not sure what look they were going for, but they failed miserably. I can't imagine anyone would actually dress like that.
Something that really bothered me was the interaction with the horses. For one thing, horses don't generally have bits in their mouths all day. A bridle and a harness are not the same thing. Whoever was in charge of the horses should have known that. Also, the two main characters apparently had no experience with the animals, which either they had no desire or were afraid, or more likely the filming company didn't want to bother with teaching them. They didn't know how to brush them, and almost every riding scene was from a distance and seemed to require a stunt double. Rachel couldn't even stage an actual dismount. The worst was the scene where Rachel and Daniel were both on horseback... it was the most unnatural-looking "riding" I've ever seen. They bobbed up-and-down in an uneven way and it was clear they weren't actually going anywhere. Huge blow to any attempt at realism. It really wouldn't have been difficult just to ride at a walk. Instead they looked like they were on some kind of bizarre teeter-totter. Maybe simple horseback riding lessons for the main actors just weren't in the budget.
I think what irritated me the most was Rachel's wardrobe... absolutely everything she wore was hideous. Ill-fitting, poorly matched, and completely unflattering. She seemed to have several layers of collars around her neck, and several sets of sleeves. It didn't look right at all and really made no sense whatsoever. I'm not sure what look they were going for, but they failed miserably. I can't imagine anyone would actually dress like that.
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