In Out of Africa and Horse Whisperer, one of my all time favorite movies, Robert Redford played the same character. Before realizing this, I wasn’t particularly a Robert Redford officianado. I hadn’t seen all his movies. I knew I liked the man, that he was decent and giving and was about more than just acting. I loved what he’s done at Sundance promoting would-be film makers by giving them an outlet to come together, create movies, and awarding the outstanding which may help them get their start. I love his Sundance catalogue – the items sold, the jewelry, the photos, the karma which emanates from his short paragraph he writes on the first page of the catalogue that is so telling of who the man is.
We sometimes confuse actors with their characters, and I’m not sure if my admiration of him comes from him, what little I truly know, or from these two characters he’s played. In both Out of Africa and Horse Whisperer, he was a loner. He had his fingertip on the pulse of the natural world and the wild. He walked the plains of Africa and had an innate sense, from patience and practice, of when a lion would spring, and when she wouldn’t. In Horse Whisperer, he rode the ranches in Montana and could connect and read horses in a way many humans can not. Due to his calm, intuitive nature, he could read people and animals, and to this I am drawn.
He was matter-of-fact with uptight Karen in Out of Africa whom he enlightened by showing her one could not possess things or people; they were fleeting and weren’t for the possessing. We are all just visitors, passing through. He was matter-of-fact with extremely uptight journalist, Annie, in Horse Whisperer. He said few words but in those few, he taught these women so much in a gentle, unpretentious way. He helped them see and learn for themselves.
He so understood these women before many words were spoken. He had a knowing and ability to read people all the way to their core. His type can be unnerving, but I’m drawn to them. They can see through pretense and false fronts. In a quiet way, he elicited in these women a change in their lifelong ways of being. They were drawn to him – his honesty, his gentleness, his civility and respectful nature. He didn’t try to change or get things his way. He would never try to control or take over, and yet, there was never a question who the strong leader was. He led himself and his life in both movies precisely the way he wanted. He was completely true to himself and his nature and he, in so doing, found fulfillment in his days.
I am drawn to his characters because I understand them, and I strive to be more like them or find them in real life.
(photo: Shelburne Farms, Vermont)
