A young woman with autism finds a sport of her own in the predictable but sweet 'Horsegirls'

On paper, Lauren Meyering’s debut diagnostic “Horsegirls” sounds similar it was made successful a 2000s indie movie lab: It features a quirky heroine with a unsocial hobby, a loved 1 with a devastating unwellness and the enactment of an improbable assemblage that rallies astir our protagonist and her dream. But astonishment — the events of “Horsegirls” are inspired by a existent story, 1 adjacent to Meyering, who based the movie connected her household friends Mackenzie and Sandra Breeden. Sometimes existent beingness tin beryllium the realest indie movie of all.

“Horsegirls” mightiness work connected insubstantial arsenic excessively sickly sweet, but Meyering’s thoughtful absorption and prima Lillian Carrier’s show support it from tipping excessively acold successful that direction. Carrier stars arsenic Margarita, a young pistillate with autism who lives with her cancer-stricken mother, Sandy (Gretchen Mol). The brace are inseparable, with Margarita accompanying her parent to chemotherapy treatments and their ain peculiar solemnisation rituals involving karaoke and sharing combo platters.

Sandy desperately wants Margarita to get a occupation but her archetypal steps toward independency travel erstwhile she spies a hobby equine rehearsal and becomes fixated connected joining. If you’re unfamiliar with hobby horsing, it’s a athletics originating from Finland that’s increasing successful popularity. It involves a choreographed regular involving elements of gymnastics and accepted dressage performed portion utilizing a “hobby horse” — a stuffed equine caput connected a stick.

For Margarita, who loves horses but isn’t allowed to interact with them owed to her mother’s information fears, it seems the cleanable solution, and she persists contempt the clique-ish mean miss behaviour from immoderate of the younger participants. The manager (Jerod Haynes) sees her determination and encourages her participation, truthful she gets a occupation astatine a Halloween store to wage for it but keeps it a concealed from Sandy. As it turns out, some parent and girl are keeping secrets from each other.

While the crippled unfolds successful a reasonably predictable manner, it’s the quality of Margarita who keeps america connected our toes. Carrier, who besides has autism, brings an inherent authenticity to the relation arsenic good arsenic a consciousness of bully wit that draws radical to Margarita, a quality who ever says what’s connected her mind, whether oregon not it’s polite oregon appropriate. But her refreshing honesty is what radical respond to, and some she and Sandy cognize she’s going to request radical successful the not-so-distant future.

Meyering cautiously threads the themes of parental interest and young big independency passim her screenplay. The anxieties are cosmopolitan — immoderate genitor wants to consciousness assured that their kid is going to beryllium OK erstwhile they’re gone; immoderate kid wants to beryllium that they’re susceptible and escaped to bash what they want. Characters similar Margarita’s store manager Hank (Iqbal Theba) beryllium that strangers tin “get” Margarita conscionable arsenic she is, without her mother’s interference oregon interpretation, adjacent if it takes immoderate clip for Sandy to recognize that.

Meyering and cinematographer Natalie Kingston make a naturalistic and often acheronian look, though “Horsegirls” is beautifully shot. The distinctive photography sets it isolated cinematically from different films successful this genre — conscionable similar Margarita herself, who visually stands retired from the different girls.

This is simply a elemental communicative executed with singular panache, and portion “Horsegirls” follows expected communicative beats, it’s successful the moments of astonishment that it works best, often acknowledgment to Carrier and her straightforward enactment deliveries, which assistance the code pop. The movie is simply a reminder that conformity is ne'er compulsory, and that putting yourself retired determination is the lone mode to find retired who’s acceptable to drawback you.

Katie Walsh is simply a Tribune News Service movie critic.