Horsegirls Film Review: Sincere Portrayal

Horsegirls manages to show a depressing but realistic portrait of life on the autism spectrum with just the right amount of sincerity and empathy.

Horsegirls is not one of those movies. It focuses on an autistic character who is capable and sympathetic, while also explaining the challenges she needs to overcome and address like any non-autistic person would as well. Writer/director Lauren Meyering was able to find a solid middle ground with her screenplay in showing autistic life.

Horsegirls is about Margarita (Lillian Carrier), a twenty-two year-old autistic girl living with her ailing mother Sandy (Gretchen Mol, Millers in Marriage) who still acts and feels a bit childish at times. She reluctantly takes a job at the local Halloween store to support her mother, but it only compounds the stress for Margarita, giving her no fulfillment. At last, she finds solace and a sense of belonging in a group dedicated to her special interest of hobbyhorsing, a combination of interpretive dance and theater involving mimicking equestrian events with stick horses. 

Margarita is a likeable, believable character and positive representation of life on the autism spectrum. She is clearly intelligent, and able to speak her mind with the most brutal of honesty. While she does know how to perform basic tasks, she needs guidance for things like driving and remembering to keep a schedule. She has emotional breakdowns and isolates herself from the world, but these are the only obstacles keeping her from having a productive life. While some parts of her struggle can be a bit overbearing and the messaging is a bit heavy handed at times, Margarita still pulls through by showing perseverance and optimism. Once the people around her provide support and help her to stay on the right track, Margarita proves there is nothing she cannot do and she is just as much a human being as any of us. 

Horsegirls does not fall into the trap of making Margarita either a savant or a sociopath. She makes mistakes and picks herself up like any other person. While she has difficulty communicating, it is only because she sees the world like no one else. Her special interest is used to help her communicate just as much as it grants her freedom. Hobbyhorsing as a niche performance art is a perfect outlet for these people to explain their feelings in a new way. It is a real hobby, and it’s gaining in popularity because it offers a unique outlet for creative expression. As a dance, it requires no words, so the communication barrier becomes almost nonexistent. Horsegirls communicates its subject matter in a way easy to understand, allowing for anyone to see what the culture is like, even from an outsider perspective. 

Even if the portrayal of spectrum life is mostly realistic, some of the drama can come across as forced at times. Sandy’s illness impacting the plot seems a bit excessive considering the stress Margarita already has to go through, and the nature of her disease is not elaborated upon. The fallout between Margarita and her mother also feels a bit unnecessary, considering Margarita brought it up earlier in the film, and Sandy could at least extend a bit of sympathy to Margarita finding something she likes doing. These parts of the movie feel the most formulaic and unrealistic, but if they are the only distraction, it is not too much of a deal breaker.     

Horsegirls is a movie about “adulting” from the perspective of someone who needs a bit more time to grow up. The challenges Margarita faces are things real people struggle with every day, and it does not get any easier for them. Seeing this struggle on film with great care and dedication makes it worth a watch for the curious. Those who are on the spectrum will resonate with Margarita and understand the struggles, as many will have lived with them. 

Horsegirls had its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 9, 2025 and will be screened again on June 10-12.