Watch The Rocking Horse Winner

The Rocking Horse Winner, a 1997 film directed by Peter Medak, is a haunting adaptation of the famous short story by D. H. Lawrence. The film stars a young Jesse Forrestal as Paul, the troubled son of a wealthy family who becomes consumed by his obsession with luck and money. Eric Stoltz and Paula Malcomson co-star as Paul's parents, who are too busy with their own lives to notice the dangerous spiral their son is on.

The film opens with a scene of tension and sadness, as Paul's mother laments her family's financial problems and her husband's inability to make enough money to keep up their extravagant lifestyle. From an early age, Paul is acutely aware of his family's money troubles, but he is also hyper-focused on finding a way to make money himself. He becomes obsessed with horse racing and begins to secretly gamble on the horses, using his father's name to place bets.

Paul's luck begins to change when he discovers an old rocking horse in the basement of his family's mansion. The horse seems to have a magical quality, and Paul becomes convinced that he can use it to predict the winners of horse races. He spends hours on the horse, rocking back and forth, until he reaches a state of trance-like ecstasy. In this state, he believes he can hear the name of the winning horse whispered to him by the horse itself.

As Paul's gambling winnings grow, so does his obsession with the horse. He becomes increasingly isolated from his family and friends, spending all his time in the basement with the horse. His mother begins to worry about his mental health, but his father dismisses her concerns as overblown.

As the tension between Paul's parents grows, so does his desperation to win more money. He becomes more reckless in his gambling, placing larger and larger bets on long-shot horses. When he loses everything, he becomes even more desperate, believing that he must find a way to satisfy the horse's demands for more money.

The film is shot in a dreamlike style, with soft lighting and hazy, half-remembered images. The score by John Altman is haunting and beautiful, adding to the sense of unease and tragedy that permeates the story. The performances by the cast are strong, with Stoltz and Malcomson bringing depth and complexity to their characters, and Forrestal giving a haunting and intense portrayal of young Paul.

The Rocking Horse Winner is a tragic story of a young boy's obsession with money and luck, and the devastating consequences of his single-minded pursuit of those things. It is a powerful and haunting film, that explores themes of greed, materialism, and family dysfunction. It is a must-see for fans of psychological drama and literary adaptations.