The Horse Whisperer (1998)

Robert Redford: Tom Booker

Photos 

Quotes 

• Tom Booker : There was a boy from the Blackfeet reservation, he used to do some work around here for a while. Sixteen, strong kid, good kid. He and I were really, really good friends. One day he went swimming and dove headfirst into the lake... and right into a rock. And it snapped his neck, paralyzed him. And after the accident I'd look in on him from time to time. But he wasn't there. It was like his mind, his spirit, whatever you want to call it, just disappeared. The only thing left was just anger. Just sort of as if the... the boy I once knew just went somewhere else.

  Grace : I know where he goes.

  Tom Booker : I know you do. Don't you disappear. You do whatever you have to do to hold on.

• Grace : Are you afraid of anything, Tom Booker?

  Tom Booker : Of growing old. Being of no use.

• Tom Booker : I didn't know that it was right to love her. I just loved her.

• Tom Booker : Jogger, huh?

  Annie : I don't jog, Mr. Booker, I run.

  Tom Booker : Well that's lucky for you. The grizzlies around here mostly go for the joggers.

• Annie : I've heard you help people with horse problems.

  Tom Booker : Truth is, I help horses with people problems.

• Tom Booker : Knowing is the easy part; saying it out loud is the hard part.

• Annie : I had a hard time finding the place. There are no signs.

  Tom Booker : Oh, there are plenty of signs. Just not many of them printed.

• Annie : I've never been on a cow farm before. It seems to me that the bulls have the best time. Just laying around the fields waiting for someone to come along and ask them to do their work.

  Tom Booker : You get born a bull you have a 90% chance of being castrated. Served up as hamburger. So on balance, I reckon I'd choose bein' a cow.

• Tom Booker : [over the phone]  Am I being too polite here when I say no in Nevada? Does that mean yes where you are?

• Tom Booker : Do you ever sit still for just a minute?

  Annie : Well, you sit still too long in New York and you get renovated.

• [last lines] 

  Annie : Can we have one last ride?

  Tom Booker : Yep. I'll saddle up.

• Annie : I haven't ridden Western before.

  Tom Booker : Yeah, but he doesn't know that. Just sit on the horse.

• Tom Booker : Is she going to be long?

  Grace : Probably, she's on the phone 23 hours a day.

  Tom Booker : What does she do?

  Grace : She's an editor.

  Tom Booker : An editor? Ah.

  Grace : Just in case she hasn't told you, which she probably hasn't, I don't want to be a part of this. Okay?

• [Tom walks up to Annie with two horses] 

  Annie : The answer is 'no'.

  Tom Booker : I haven't even asked you the question yet!

• Tom Booker : Hey, Grace?

  Grace : Hmm?

  Tom Booker : What went on out there with Pilgrim?

  [Grace says nothing, just turns toward the truck's rear] 

  Tom Booker : See Grace, I've got a problem. When I work with a horse, I like to know its history. Now sometimes, a horse, in their own way, can pretty much tell you the whole story. But sometimes, they get so messed up in their head that you need more to go on. Now I don't know how you feel about talking about it. And if you don't feel like it, I understand. But if I'm gonna figure out what's going on in his head, it sure would help me if I understood exactly what happened that day. You know, not today. Whenever you feel like it. I'll leave that up to you.