“Horsegirls” screened at the Oriental Theatre as part of Milwaukee Film’s Cinematic Sisterhood series. The film’s producer Alix Madigan and actor Jerod Haynes participated in a post-screening Q&A hosted by local filmmaker and actor Khaula Kai Mahmood.
Synopsis
“Horsegirls” is a coming-of-age dramedy about a neurodivergent 22-year-old girl named Margarita. Her mom is battling a serious illness and pushing Margarita to become more responsible and independent by getting a job.
Margarita has already graduated from college but seems unsure of her future. She ends up finding strength and community in joining a grade school hobby horsing team. This is an activity where the participant must use gymnastic/dance elements to move around with a stick horse.
The film is directed and written by Lauren Meyering, with co-writing credit given to Mackenzie Breeden. Lauren has a twin sister named Kristina, and as children they portrayed the character Lisa Lambert on the TV comedy “Step by Step” during season five.
Breeden, who has co-writing credit for the film, has a sister named Marguerite who is the inspiration for Margarita in the film. Marguerite has a cameo appearance in the film at its final moments as a member of the crowd watching Margarita compete in the hobby horsing competition.
Marguerite’s mother, also named Sandy, passed away during the shooting of the film and receives a dedication before the credits roll.
Acting
Gretchen Mol plays Margarita’s mom Sandy, who, yes, named her daughter after the alcoholic drink she had the night she was conceived. Mol has a long list of credited roles across film and television.
Tony Hale also has a very small but memorable role as Sandy’s brother who comes to help take care of them while she is sick. The character actor Iqbal Theba has a role as Margarita’s boss. He has had several supporting roles but might be best recognized as the principal in “Glee.”
Lillian Carrier plays Margarita in an amazing performance that should be getting her more attention. She identifies as neurodivergent, and with that life experience, brings grounded authenticity to the role rather than a neurotypical person who would have had Margarita feeling like a caricature.
This is the first major starring role for Carrier. Previously, she did play Drea on the underrated Australian comedy TV show called “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay.” The show features good portrayals of neurodivergent people.
Jerod Haynes, who attended the Milwaukee screening, plays Margarita’s hobby horse coach. The character is a dedicated mentor who develops a strong relationship with Margarita.
Review
“Horsegirls” is a perfect independent film with so much heart that by the end there was audible crying in the theater. For an independent film on a small budget, it’s expertly written, edited and composed.
It was alluded to in the Q&A portion after the film, but authenticity was incredibly important to this film because of Sia’s film “Music.” That film had cast a neurotypical person as a neurodivergent person. It treated living on the spectrum less realistically.
Therefore, the producers and creators of “Horsegirls” valued the input of neurodivergent people highly as they set out to accurately portray them. The team behind the film succeeded, and we are left with one of my favorite portrayals of a neurodivergent person.
The focus is never solely on Margarita being neurodivergent, but rather this is just a part of her. “Horsegirls'” writing is very sharp, which benefits the characters and story. There are so many small plot moments or side aspects that get picked back up and given satisfying closure.
I found myself absolutely bawling during this film because I was so invested in these characters. Even though the neurodivergent representation is important to the story, this is a film about these characters as people first and foremost.
Another important aspect of this film is the cancer storyline with Sandy. This was handled perfectly by Gretchen Mol and the filmmakers. I found Sandy to be incredibly three-dimensional, and her character was defined by more than just being a cancer patient.
“Horsegirls” benefits from having several supporting actors giving their best, which creates space for memorable small characters to shine. This allows for a cozy and lived-in backdrop to the main plot.
Even the physical sets and settings of this film are given extra attention. Specifically, Margarita’s room, where we do spend some important time with the character getting to understand her. There are posters and little details that make her room memorable.
I recommend “Horsegirls” for anyone interested in watching a character drama with heartwarming humor. The film is rated PG-13 and makes for a great family watch as it features life lessons that people of all ages can take away from watching it.
Post-Film Discussion
Khaula Kai Mahmood opened up the Q&A by addressing the elephant in the room: everyone was still crying from the film’s ending. ” I had to go back and clean out my face a little bit, even though I’m watching it the second time,” Kai Mahmood said.
Haynes, who played the coach in the film, said that his role was written to be an older white man and not a younger black man. However, in the casting process, he fit exactly what they were looking for, and he brought humanity to an important role.
In the film, the coach has lost someone important to him, which has left him on his last leg. However, in Haynes’ eyes, Margarita brings out a second wind in the character.
“I just kind of looked at him as a gardener. And the gardener’s job is not to say what flowers would grow. You just create the conditions and allow those flowers to bloom. And so I kind of took it as that approach, and there was a reciprocity,” Haynes said.
The film’s producer Alix Madigan worked with Director Meyering on developing “Horsegirls” because this was the director’s first film.
“Your main job, I think, as an independent producer is to really protect your filmmaker’s vision with your ultimate allegiance being to the film itself,” Madigan said.
Madigan also revealed how Tony Hale ended up with a role in this small independent film. She says that the co-writer, Mackenzie Breeden, did some sort of comedy standup with Hale. Breeden reached out to him and asked if he wanted to do the part.
It was also revealed that Breeden had a small part in the film as Rayna, who was one of Sandy’s doctors in the film.
One of the people in the audience shared their appreciation for the character of Margarita. They were visibly emotionally moved by watching the film, and still had some tears streaming down.
“I wanted to say thank you. The depiction of Margarita was one of the most beautiful depictions of a person with autism I’ve ever seen in a movie,” the fan told Haynes and Madigan. They continued, “I just love the way in which, like, even when she conflicted with other characters, it was never an obstacle; it was very much like there’s a mutual understanding between her and her mother. It was very beautiful to see on the screen.”
Additional Background
Milwaukee Film’s Cinematic Sisterhood series is presented by Tracey B. Thomas, and the Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee is a community partner of the series. Past films in this series include “Give Me The Ball!” as well as special events like “An Afternoon with the Queen: A Rachel Talalay Retrospective.”
The film partner of this screening was the Autism Society of Wisconsin. It’s an organization for Autistic adults, families and community members across Wisconsin to find Autism-related information and resources.
“Horsegirls” was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2025 and at the Cordillera International Film Festival in September 2025.
Where to Watch:
“Horsegirls” is available via PVOD to rent, buy or stream on most digital platforms. You can follow along on the film’s website to see which theaters will be playing the film in the future.