Dream Horse. (12.)
Directed by Euros Lyn.
Starring Toni Collette, Damian Lewis, Owen Teale, Karl Johnson, Joanna Page and Sian Phillips. 113 mins.
There aren't many movie stars who could convince working on the check out at the Co-Op. (Of course, there isn't much call for movie stars in roles that require that skill, it's not a position a Bruce Willis cop would go undercover in.) It is though one of Toni Collette's many thespian attributes that she can be entirely believable as a middle-aged Welsh wife, ground down by life and a marriage to a well-meaning but dull man (Teale) who is little more than a TV attachment. Her way out is to form a syndicate with other locals to breed a racehorse that she will keep on her allotment. This little diversion begins to take off when the horse, named Dream Alliance, turns out to be rather fast over the fences.
Being a British film – Welsh to be precise – it's based on a true story. Because they all are. And it's based on a true story where a group of underdogs put aside their differences to work on a project that will give renewed vigour and meaning to their lives. Because they all are. Conceptually, it may be a tired old nag, but they get a hell of a ride out of it.
I'm not an aficionado of the gee gees but the racing sequences looked to me to be very well done, though it is an oddity that the jockey gets so little attention. The script, by Neal McKay, appears to stick quite closely to what actually happened and the process of shaping it into an upbeat narrative hasn't knocked all the edges off. It is funny and uplifting but it doesn't forget that this is a story forged out of desperation. The film's version of Wales may be one where they have pub sing-along of Delilah but it's also a country of grindingly low career aspirations and limited opportunities. Probably the existence of Dark Horse, a 2015 documentary telling of the story has kept it honest. If you ever doubted the film's integrity just take a look at Teale's mouth: its smattering of remaining teeth is enough to assure you that very little is getting glitzed over in this treatment.
Directed by Euros Lyn.
Starring Toni Collette, Damian Lewis, Owen Teale, Karl Johnson, Joanna Page and Sian Phillips. 113 mins.
There aren't many movie stars who could convince working on the check out at the Co-Op. (Of course, there isn't much call for movie stars in roles that require that skill, it's not a position a Bruce Willis cop would go undercover in.) It is though one of Toni Collette's many thespian attributes that she can be entirely believable as a middle-aged Welsh wife, ground down by life and a marriage to a well-meaning but dull man (Teale) who is little more than a TV attachment. Her way out is to form a syndicate with other locals to breed a racehorse that she will keep on her allotment. This little diversion begins to take off when the horse, named Dream Alliance, turns out to be rather fast over the fences.
Being a British film – Welsh to be precise – it's based on a true story. Because they all are. And it's based on a true story where a group of underdogs put aside their differences to work on a project that will give renewed vigour and meaning to their lives. Because they all are. Conceptually, it may be a tired old nag, but they get a hell of a ride out of it.
I'm not an aficionado of the gee gees but the racing sequences looked to me to be very well done, though it is an oddity that the jockey gets so little attention. The script, by Neal McKay, appears to stick quite closely to what actually happened and the process of shaping it into an upbeat narrative hasn't knocked all the edges off. It is funny and uplifting but it doesn't forget that this is a story forged out of desperation. The film's version of Wales may be one where they have pub sing-along of Delilah but it's also a country of grindingly low career aspirations and limited opportunities. Probably the existence of Dark Horse, a 2015 documentary telling of the story has kept it honest. If you ever doubted the film's integrity just take a look at Teale's mouth: its smattering of remaining teeth is enough to assure you that very little is getting glitzed over in this treatment.
