The heroine's name is Leslie, and she's a spirited young woman from a rich family in Washington. She's got a mind of her own and a very strong will. A rancher named Jordan from Texas happens to come to her father's house to buy a very spirited horse (which happens to be Leslie's). He is immediately captivated by her spirit, marries her, and brings her back to Texas with him. Things are bumpy throughout their entire relationship. Various people, including her own husband, are at odds with her progressive ways, just as she is at odds with how they treat the aboriginals and their women. Leslie's struggles aren't the only main story. There is also the story of how times are changing, and how Jordan might not be able to keep up with those changes. Leslie and Jordan raise three kids, and Jordan is really looking forward to having a son to follow in his footsteps, but as luck would have it, his son was afraid of horses from a young age, and eventually becomes the opposite of his father in every way, from profession to choice of wife. There is also a farm hand who is half in love with Leslie, and strikes it rich with oil he found on land that was given to him by Jordan's sister. He adds another level to the story.
I think that this story is ultimately a story of the inevitability of progress, and Leslie represents that progress. There is a scene close to the beginning where Jordan's sister is very upset with Leslie moving in and taking her place as Jordan's wife, taking a place in the home she's moved to. She feels threatened by Leslie and feels the need to demonstrate her dominance. The horse that Jordan bought from Leslie's father was a wild beast, and only Leslie could ride it, but the sister decides that she will ride this animal because it was her ranch and her horse, etc. She ends up being thrown from the horse and dying, and for me that is where the story of progress begins symbolically. The sister represents the old ways... closed-minded and stubborn, and Leslie and her horse represent the new changes that are coming, that are inevitable and that will destroy all before it if too much resistance is met. There are a lot of changes that happen in the movie, many situations of resistance of the norm. A large part of the plot is how aboriginals were treated by the white Texans. Near the beginning of the film, before they were married, Leslie comments on how the land was actually stolen from the natives, which of course makes Jordan very angry. The movie also ends with this theme, and is what finally unites the couples (and brings new and old sensibilities in line with each other). Another area of tension is how women were treated. There was one scene in specific where Leslie makes a big stink about the fact that the men won't allow her to participate in their conversation about politics and business, and how they in fact send her to bed like a child. There is also, of course, the issue of their children growing up to be something other than what their parent's would have hoped. Their son takes after Leslie completely, which angers Jordan to no end. He wants to be a doctor instead of a rancher, and sin of all sins, he falls in love with and marries a native girl. The first daughter is not exactly what Leslie wants either, but the film focuses more on Jordan's wishes, and she disappoints even him, even though he wants to be a rancher. The third is also very aggravating to the two of them because she fancies herself in love with their former hired hand.
Even though the main events of this story happen around a married couple, and how they met and grew old together, I wouldn't exactly call it a romance. Their relationship was more just a fact of life than it was a romantic meeting of souls or star-crossed lovers or anything like that. It was an everyday affair that gave the audience an excuse for being involved in the happenings of the lives of these people. It's more of an epic. Part romance, part drama, part social commentary, part western. And it's over 3 hours long.
It's not my favourite movie ever, but I do love Elizabeth Taylor, and she is exquisite in this role. She's a strong, sensible woman who takes charge of her own life on the ranch and isn't some spineless, biddable wife lacking brains and drive. She carves out a place for herself amongst some very strong personalities that would rather she hold her tongue. I don't know that I will ever watch it again, nor would I say that I'm extremely thrilled at having watched it at all as I like films with more definite plot structure and well-defined themes, but it wasn't a bad film and if you have the time I say give it a go!
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