Ape Culture - Prince of Tides vs. The Horse Whisperer

Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford became one in The Way We Were and I'm not sure the love spell ever wore off. They've made the same movie.

What follows is a point-by-point comparison of The Prince of Tides (POT) and The Horse Whisperer (HW). I'm telling you, you haven't seen such eerie similarities since you read the Kennedy and Lincoln facts on a souvenir at that gift shop in Springfield, Illinois.

POT: Babs used a best-selling romance novel as her source material.

HW: Bob used a best-selling romance novel as his source material.

POT: The middle-aged Babs directed and starred in the film, making sure to bathe herself in a soft glow and show off her assets - nails and legs - in a strangely unsettling, fetishistic way.

HW: The middle-aged Bob directed and starred in the film, making sure to bathe his beyond weathered, more like hurricane-stricken face in a soft glow and wearing western clothes, begging the question: is this a movie, or a two and a half hour advertisement for the Sundance catalog?

POT: Babs plays Dr. Lowenstein, a stereotypical New Yorker who is a successful professional, borderline workaholic, wife to a cold husband, and mother to a spoiled brat.

HW: Kristin Scott-Thomas plays Annie MacLean, a stereotypical New Yorker who is a successful professional, major workaholic, wife to a distant husband, and mother to a spoiled brat.

POT: Lowenstein calls her new-love-interest-to-be and requests that he come to New York because she needs his help after a medical emergency.

HW: Annie calls her new-love-interest-to-be and requests that he come to New York because she needs his help after a medical emergency.

POT: The camera lingers on a blood stain on the white carpet, evidence of Tom's sister's suicide attempt.

HW: The camera lingers on blood on the white snow, evidence of the horseback-riding accident that kills one girl and injures Annie's daughter.

POT: Lowenstein finds herself strangely drawn to this new man, Tom Wingo, a southerner, an exotic other, and nothing like her husband.

HW: Annie finds herself strangely drawn to this new man, Tom Booker, a westerner, an exotic other, and nothing like her husband.

POT: Lowenstein relies on Tom's help to cure her suicidal patient, Tom's sister who is emotionally cripped due to childhood trauma.

HW: Annie relies on Tom's help to cure her child's crazed horse, traumatized due to the horseback-riding accident that crippled Annie's daughter.

POT: Although he at first seems like a rube, Tom reveals a knowledge of literature that impresses Lowenstein.

HW: Although he at first seems like a rube, Tom reveals that he once lived in Chicago and that he has a knowledge of classical music that impresses Annie.

POT: Tom thinks Lowenstein looks fetching, even when she's wearing a drab grey jogging suit.

HW: Tom thinks Annie looks fetching, even when she's wearing a drab grey jogging suit.

POT: Tom challenges Lowenstein's cocky son, teaching him to play football. At first the boy is hostile, but he grows to love his coach.

HW: Tom challenges Annie's bitter daughter, teaching her to drive a truck and get back on that horse. At first the girl is hostile, but she grows to love the horse whisperer.

POT: Tom's wife is cheating and she's 1,000 miles away. Lowenstein's husband is a jerk and he travels all the time. They're free to hook up.

HW: Tom has no wife. Annie's husband is distant, physically and emotionally. They're free to hook up.

POT: Lowenstein and Tom dance together at the Rainbow Room.

HW: Annie and Tom dance together in the barn.

POT: It's obvious but painful to the characters and the audience: these two lovebirds are from different worlds and they must return to those worlds once the patient's wrists have healed and she's writing poetry again and their work is done.

HW: It's obvious but painful to the characters and the audience: these two lovebirds are from different worlds and they must return to those worlds once the wild horse is broken and the bitter daughter is healed and their work is done.

POT: Before going back to his family, Tom wishes two lives were apportioned to him, so he could also live with Lowenstein.

HW: Before letting Annie go back to her family, Tom reveals that he has had two lives -- as a city mouse and a country mouse -- and he can't go back to being a city mouse.

POT: The final shot shows Tom, having left Lowenstein behind, driving across a bridge in South Carolina, as a beautiful sunset illuminates the scenery.

HW: The final shot shows Annie, having left Tom behind, driving through beautiful mountain scenery.

POT: At the end of the film, Tom claims that he whispers "Lowenstein, Lowenstein" each day as a prayer, a sigh of regret, an expression of praise.

HW: I'm not really sure exactly what Tom whispers to the horses, but it's probably not "Lowenstein."

So, there it is in all its shocking glory: insurmountable evidence that these two movies are really one and the same. Call it innocence lost, but will we ever be able to look at Babs and Bob the same way again? Sleepless at night, will we be haunted by the questions, what other movies have they directed that are so blatently the same movie? A River Runs Through Yentl? The Milagro Beanfield Mirror Has Two Faces?

The way they were is the way they are is the way they will always be. By teaming up in one of the classic romances in film history, Babs and Bob clearly learned all the conventions for manipulating an audience. But, hey, we kinda like being manipulated, don't we?

A Babs Fan Site
A Bob Fan Site
Equisearch - the website Annie consults to find Tom Booker in the movie - features articles about the movie from the horse-obsessed perspective.