Dream Horse

I saw another version of this story a few years ago. For anyone who likes horses (and who doesn't). A Welsh town funds the purchase of a horse to breed & subsequently race the foal hopefully to make a little money for the townsfolk. Most of the film time is on the people & beer consumption. Missing was screen time devoted to the challenges in training & maintaining a race horse.

Greetings again from the darkness. Feel-good, underdog sports stories are a dependable addition to the entertainment value many seek from movies. Director Euros Lyn (shout out for the first 3 episodes of "Happy Valley") and writer Neil McKay take us to South Wales for the unlikely true story of Dream Alliance, a racehorse whose saddle carried the hopes of a downtrodden small town. Only rather than focus on the horse, this is the story of the townspeople who desperately needed something to believe in. Toni Collette (THE SIXTH SENSE, 1999) stars as Jan Vokes, a South Wales villager working two jobs. She also cares for her arthritic husband and her elderly parents, while wondering why her life is so mundane and joyless. Her affinity for animals is apparent by the dog in her bed (not her husband) and the rehabilitating goose in the kitchen. She also has a history of prize-winning with whippets and pigeons. One evening while working at the local pub, she overhears blustering bravado from a customer named Howard Davies (Damian Lewis, "Billions") who regales his drinking buddies with tales of his time in a syndicate for a racing thoroughbred. After a bit of research, Jan decides she's going to purchase a mare in order to breed and raise her own race horse. The fun begins when Jan, with the help of Howard, puts together a syndicate of local town folks in order to bankroll her idea. It's kind of a rag-tag group, including the town drunk (Karl Johnson). But their passion clearly brings hope where it's been lacking for a while. Howard, an accountant by trade, has to initially keep the whole thing secret from his wife (Joanna Page), who has no tolerance after his last syndicate almost cost them everything. Jan's husband Brian (Owen Teale, "Game of Thrones"), aka Daisy, jumps in to help, though this is one segment that detours from what we saw in the 2015 documentary, DARK HORSE (an audience winner at Sundance). It's likely Brian's work was more important than what this dramatized version leads us to believe. Here, the focus is on Jan, and of course, the always reliable Ms. Collette, is strong in the role. However, when Dream Alliance disappears for long stretches of the movie (while off with trainer Philip Hobbs played by Nicholas Farrell), we forget that it's the story of a horse. Beyond that, we rarely see Jan with Dream Alliance, yet we are supposed to buy a "horse whisperer" connection between the two. How and when did that happen? The racing scenes are very well done and provide a jolt of energy to the film. The steeplechase jumps are especially impressive and stress-inducing. Cinematographer Erik Wilson provides a touch of realism both at the track and in the small town. This helps immensely since the story is mostly fluff with minimal conflict between the elite of horse racing and the blue collar folks of a mining town. The film ends with a group song of "Delilah" (by Welshman Tom Jones) that includes the real Jan and Brian, as well as others who were involved with Dream Alliance. It's a true example of "Hwyl" no matter how you say it or how you define it. Releasing in theatres on May 21, 2021 and On Demand June 11, 2021.

This movie could have been so much more. The base storyline could have gone some where and each time that I thought that it could it didn't. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't feel attached to the characters, and every time there was moment it could have been happy or sad I didn't really care.

"We lost our jobs, our community, even our pride. And then Dream came along and reminded us what life is like when you are home." Dream Horse tells the inspiring true story of Dream Alliance, an unlikely race horse bred by small town Welsh bartender Jan Vokes. With very little money and no experience, Jan convinces her neighbors to chip in their meager earnings to help raise Dream in the hopes he can compete with the racing elites. The group's investment pays off as Dream rises through the ranks with grit and determination, showing the heart of a true champion. This is what we call a crowd-pleaser. Everything about it is there to make you feel the triumphs and defeats everyone goes through on the path to victory. For that reason, the story goes where you think it would. It hits all those beats in both drama, comedy, suspense, and scenes trying to get you to cry with the characters. That's not necessarily a bad thing because it's 100% expected going in. It does take away from the movie, though, and it might be its biggest weakness. Still, the story is very enjoyable. Which makes sense for its extremely high rating of 90% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Some of the writing isn't as good as it could be, falling into cliches. But there are some scenes that work well with the characters. If you're gonna watch the movie for anything, it's Toni Collette. Her portrayal of Jan is fun and just the right central character needed. I don't know. There's not much more to be said. It's predictable and cheesy, but that's all part of the experience. I like Dream Horse and it's a quality movie to watch if you want to watch something with heart.

As someone who's family has ran a rescue farm for race horses for years. Bravo. Great job at making people call in love with this sport. And to anyone that says the dumbas$ statement "their born to run". They are, in the wild, without a 90lb man strapped to their back, and not while being hit with a pvc pipe. But hey, we feel better while watching this garbage. The acting is good though. So I can give it 2 for that.

From start to finish! I had a very good time enjoying how these characters raised their big strong horse and then turned him into a champ racer it was a very cool adventure! And it was very sweet and kind and thoughtful and it was nice to see the real people at the end that was very cool! Good job , although I didn't understand why or how there were horses along the streets of where all these people lived! Lol but that was nice too! :)

This movie could have been so much more. The base storyline could have gone some where and each time that I thought that it could it didn't. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't feel attached to the characters, and every time there was moment it could have been happy or sad I didn't really care.

In my opinion, Damien Lewis stole this movie. The accents were so good, that I had a had a hard time understanding my native language. The background scenery made me realize I have no desire to visit Wales. All that being said the two lead characters did a marvelous job showing me what true love is. For our first movie after the Pandemic, we had to choose between this and Cruella. I'm glad we chose this. I should also say Teale stole this movie. And Kari Johnson lent a lot comedy to the film. The entire cast is good. I also notice that most if not all of the cast is Welsh except for Toni Colllett. The U. K. sure has an abundance of talent.

We all understand that this era has not been kind to filmgoers. But that does not mean clapping hands for films that do not deserve it. For this genre, 2003's SEABISCUIT is the daisy -- the best in class. (And listed in my list of most re-watchable films of all time). Top stars are wasted here a 2-hr script that mostly runs in circles.