Cindy Meehl's Buck (2011) portrays a professional "horse whisperer" named Buck Brannaman as the real-life counterpoint to the movie version played by Robert Redford (top still: Brannaman at right). Access and editing are the key to the film's effectiveness, and the story is deepened when Meehl implies the parallels between child abuse and the mistreatment of horses. Third still: one of Buck's assistants in the ring is about to be bitten in an alarming scene in the documentary.
