Black Beauty

English author Anna Sewell's 1877 novel becomes a cornball American love story in this naff reworking from writer/director Ashley Avis. Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar) plays Jo, an orphaned teenage girl who goes to live with her uncle (Iain Glen) on a ranch, where she bonds with the titular horse. Along the way, there's an evil mother and daughter (Claire Forlani and Fern Deacon) who mistreat the mare, plus romance with the unintentionally smarmy son of the family, played by Calam Lynch. Foy pitches her earnest performance about right, but Kate Winslet overeggs her narration as the voice of the horse, adopting a treacly American accent. The equine's lack of expressiveness is also a problem: as Glen leans on fences and shamelessly proffers wisdom and Winslet overexplains everything, it's hard to ignore the horse's indifference. Animal lovers alone should prove susceptible to this film's meagre charms.