Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991)
1h 28m | PG-13
A runaway orphan, young Sonora, persists in a menial job mucking stables in Doc Carver's travelling stunt show. Her great wish is to become a death-defying "diving girl," but Doc refuses her pleas. Undaunted, Sonora's gutsy resolve finally convinces him to give her a break. On the brink of stardom, however, a cruel twist of fate threatens to destroy her dream.
Director: Steve Miner
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Genre: Drama, Family
Video: 720p
Cast
Gabrielle Anwar
as Sonora Webster
Cliff Robertson
as Dr. W.F. Carver
Michael Schoeffling
as Al Carver
Dylan Kussman
as Clifford Henderson
Kathleen York
as Marie
Frank Renzulli
as Mr. Slater
Reviews
Fantastic stuff! I rather loved watching <em>'Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken'</em>. That's despite a few uneasy things about it, one being the love story (under/age gap?) and the other being that it involves diving horses; which I had no knowledge of before now... what an insanely messed up thing that was! The film is, though, based on true events so it's difficult to judge it on those parts. I'm just saying, it did make me feel iffy watching at times. Away from that, the film has a lot of great things going in its favour. Starting with the cast. Gabrielle Anwar is outstanding in the lead role as Sonora, particularly across the third act. A top, top performance from her. Michael Schoeffling (Al) and Cliff Robertson (Doc) are very good, also. Those three work very nicely together - impressive casting. I really rate how the film's made, the score in particular is awesome; as is the editing. The premise is extremely watchable, I was locked in throughout the 88 minutes. It has humour and heart. Another hidden gem in Disney's live-action collection. Watch it if you can.