Tribeca: “Horsegirls” Gallops to Self-Lov
It takes a certain strength to take your personal feelings of loss and sadness and turn them into a creative endeavor. Carrie Fisher once said, “Take your broken heart and turn it into art.” This sentiment is at the heart of Lauren Meyering’s Tribeca-premiering Horsegirls. The film is written and directed by Meyering, but the story comes from a collaboration between Meyering and her best friend, Mackenzie Breeden. Together, Meyering and Breeden crafted an ode to a woman who played an important role in both of their lives and created a space for a coming-of-age protagonist who rarely gets the spotlight.
Margarita (Lillian Carrier), immediately after introducing herself, will tell you that her name comes from the fact that her parents were drinking margaritas the night she was conceived. Most people are taken aback by this declaration, but it doesn’t faze Margarita. In fact, very little fazes Margarita, but because of her autism, Margarita’s mom, Sandy (Gretchen Mol), tries to shield her from the realities of the world. Sandy herself is struggling with the uncertain reality of her medical diagnosis and worries that, should something happen to her, Margarita may not be able to care for herself. In an attempt to prove she’s capable, Margarita gets a job at the local Halloween store and picks up the strange pastime of hobby horses.
courtesy of Tribeca
It would not be an understatement to say that the hobby horse club Margarita joins saves her life. It allows her to do something on her own, with firm encouragement from her coach (Jerod Haynes). Hobbies create a sense of community, pride, and confidence, and it’s no different in Margarita’s case. She’s at an immense turning point in her life, and it’s through the lessons learned while hobby horsing that she becomes more able to accept the unrelenting realities life throws at her. Carrier’s portrayal of Margarita is one of Horsegirls’ greatest strengths. Like her character, she is autistic, which allows truth to be imbued into every fiber of the story. Horsegirls is proof that something intangible and ineffable is added when an actor intimately understands the role they’re playing.
Horsegirls is a coming-of-age story about a person who wants to be seen as the fully-formed adult she is. It’s lovely watching a person come into their own, which is why this genre is so enduring. We’re all trying to convince ourselves and those around us that we’re capable. Even if we fall and scrape our knees on hurdles people around us effortlessly clear, we’re moving forward at our own pace. Horsegirls is about the people we leave behind, the communities that shape us, and the acceptance we’re all searching for. The road to make it isn’t easy and it’s certainly messy, but sometimes a horse head on the handle of a broom is the vehicle that gets us there.
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