Spirit Untamed

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

Just in time for the summer, Spirit Untamed gives us everything that we could ever need. A story of life, death, and luck—especially with the main character aptly named Lucky Prescott (Isabela Merced) and her journey back to her roots. But this story is about more than just Lucky’s reunion with her father Jim (Jake Gyllenhal) and unknowingly following in her mother Milagro’s (Eiza Gonzalez) former footsteps with the help of a wild horse named Spirit. It’s about the roots she begins to cultivate in her old hometown of Miradero and the friendship she finds in locals Pru (Marsai Martin) and Abigail (McKenna Grace).

After her mother Milagro dies in an unfortunate accident, Lucky is sent to live with her grandfather and looked over by her Aunt Cora (Julianne Moore). But due to her rebellious spirit while her grandfather campaigns for office, a now adolescent Lucky and Aunt Cora are sent back to Miradero to stay out of the public eye and spend time with Lucky’s estranged father, Jim. During their train ride to Miradero Lucky encounters a group of wild horses running alongside the train and becomes intrigued. Unfortunately, the horses also catch the eye of a man named Hendricks (Walton Goggins) and his crew who plan to capture the horses and trade them for profit. Hendricks does succeed in capturing Spirit and uses a local ranch to try and domesticate the horse.

As Jim is against Lucky getting involved with horses since it was part of the reason her mother had passed, she goes against her father’s wishes and tries to befriend Spirit at the ranch. Pru and Abigail quickly take to assisting Lucky in her mission and provide as many tips as possible. Their advice works and Spirit begins to warm up to Lucky, even defending her against the herd she stumbles upon from freeing Spirit from the ranch. However, unbeknownst to Lucky, Hendricks and his crew have been keeping an eye on Lucky and Spirit—giving Hendricks the opportunity to capture the herd. With Lucky and Spirit left behind, Lucky returns to Miradero and enlists the help of Pru and Abigail to help her save the herd and reunite Spirit with the herd.

Based on the Spirit series written by Aury Wallington and John Fusco, Spirit Untamed is well executed by giving all ages a story they can enjoy. Directors Elaine Bogan and Ennio Torresan have made the story about more than just Spirit. Lucky is left to navigate a new town and try to reconnect with her father at the same time, all while semi-cringing over Jim’s efforts to understand the daughter he sent away. Even though Lucky hasn’t been around, Jim does seem to have that overprotective father role down and Gyllenhal executes that flawlessly.

My favorite part is the friendship that evolves between Lucky, Pru and Abigail. In the beginning it was all about helping Lucky befriend Spirit. However, when Spirit’s family meets danger both Pru and Abigail refuse to let Lucky go alone on her journey to save them. Watching the girls navigate treacherous territory with Lucky’s determination, the flair of Abigail’s off-key crooning to her guitar and Pru’s practical approach to obstacles, the group dynamic works. I found myself wanting more stories of how their friendship would flourish once the story ended.

Who would have thought that a horse could manage to not only help a father start to develop and repair the relationship with his daughter, but also a path to understanding herself? In the end for Lucky, it’s all about understanding who she is and where she comes from.