Screenwriters Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner do a wonderful job of infusing Mary O’Hara’s classic novel My Friend Flicka with both a sense of female empowerment by changing the male hero into a heroine and by making her tale accessible to today’s audiences. As Flicka begins, we meet our engaging leading lady (Alison Lohman, also wonderful in White Oleander and Matchstick Men), a sixteen-year-old restless dreamer who returns home to her Wyoming ranch for an eventful summer after failing to complete the final essay in her upscale boarding school.
Tim McGraw and Maria Bello are well cast as her loving parents who differ in their approaches with their headstrong daughter. During the summer, she finds a wild mustang and sets out to tame and train the beautiful horse she names Flicka, which, (as the film explains) means “pretty girl” in Swedish.
Inspiring, beautifully photographed and far superior to most of the films being marketed to teenage girls today, Flicka is a film of rare quality and one that will hopefully engaged new fans now that it’s been made available on DVD.
Note: Check out the excellent soundtrack below, including McGraw’s hit song that was written especially for the film.
Songs from the Flicka Soundtrack
“My Little Girl” by Tim McGraw
“4:35 A.M.” by Gemma Hayes
“Weight of the World” by Chantal Kreviazuk
“Catch the Wind” by Donovan
“All the Pretty Little Ponies” by Catherine Raney
“Alive” by Becki Ryan
“Wild Horses” by Natasha Bedingfield
“Where Did I Go Right?” by The Warren Brothers
“The Things We Don’t” by Watertown
“The Fireman” by The Dancehall Doctors
“My Little Girl” by Tim McGraw
“4:35 A.M.” by Gemma Hayes
“Weight of the World” by Chantal Kreviazuk
“Catch the Wind” by Donovan
“All the Pretty Little Ponies” by Catherine Raney
“Alive” by Becki Ryan
“Wild Horses” by Natasha Bedingfield
“Where Did I Go Right?” by The Warren Brothers
“The Things We Don’t” by Watertown
“The Fireman” by The Dancehall Doctors
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