Equus Reviews

A reverential and somewhat bumpy film adaptation. Shaffer adapted his own gripping play about a young man, Alan Strang (Firth), who is inexplicably compelled to blind horses. Burton is Dr. Martin Dysart, the psychiatrist who realizes that Alan's religious fervor is the key to the mystery. Alan's devout mother, Dora Strang (Plowright), has supplied the confused youth with a thwarted view of life that has resulted in his behavior. The court appoints Dr. Dysart to get to the bottom of the reasons for Alan's deeds and he learns much about himself in the process. This is a fairly convincing rendition of a real psychiatrist-patient relationship. Burton confirms his status as a master thespian as he begins to take stock of his own life in the pressure-cooker of his work with Firth. He's extremely intense albeit in a particularly actorly way. Firth's performance is technically flawless but it is periodically interrupted by scenes in which the dumbfounded camera simply observes him nude. Veteran director Lumet's work here is earnest yet unimaginative. He does his best with what is still essentially a filmed play. Shaffer's words are often smart and incisive but the film could have done with a few less of them.