Like LSD, Love Supreme Delight, Dream Alliance gives all ordinary good old folk HOOPE, and the whole town too even, and in this world HOOPE is priceless.We all need to Dream bigger dreams
~ Toni Collette proves it's never too late to live out one's dreams in “Dream Horse, ” an inspiring sports drama based on a true story. The mare becomes part of the family, joining an assortment of ducks, geese, goats and a large shaggy dog that is allowed to sleep on the couple's bed.
Fate can fancy itself a scriptwriter. The sturdy feel-good comic drama Dream Horseis stuffed with the highs and lows of a thousand underdog sports movies — and every one comes straight from real life. The true story of Dream Alliance — a no-chance scrapper of a racehorse — has been told already in the 2015 documentary Dark Horse. Given the rousing course of events, Hollywood was never going to leave it at that. So here with a light studio gloss is the tale of the would-be champion bred by south Wales supermarket worker Jan Vokes, owned by a syndicate of friends and neighbours, chipping in monthly tenners for upkeep. The first training ground is an allotment. Later comes Cheltenham and Aintree. And then — well, no. To say more would be unsporting.
Like The Collini Case, this “Dream Horse” film with Toni Collette is based on the true story of a Welsh woman from a small village who overhears a conversation about race horsing...and she's off! She decides to get into that business and she wrangles fellow villagers to join her. Their new horse is named "Dream Alliance."
These days women like Jan Vokes (Toni Collette) scrape a living from a variety of minimum-wage jobs – bit of cleaning here, some bar work there, some time behind a till in between.
“Nags to riches!” was the predictable headline chosen by the tabloids to sum up the events that inspired Dream Horse. It’s about a syndicate of Welsh villagers that successfully took on Britain’s racing establishment with a horse raised on an allotment reclaimed from an abandoned slagheap.
It’s a story with all the hallmarks of a typically British feel-good movie in the tradition pioneered by the Ealing comedies of the post-World War II years when the country needed all the laughs it could raise.
Toni Collette takes on racing establishment in incredible true story
Dream Alliance, the horse that won the Welsh Grand National in 2009, did not have a promising start. He began his life on a slag heap allotment in a town in southern Wales. Bred by amateurs and raised through a syndicate of townsfolk, he went on to claim first prize at one of the top events in horseracing.
If there is an explanation beyond good genes, good fortune and a competitive spirit, then I don't know that this sweet, feel-good story with a light comic touch provides it. Yet Dream Horse will surely lifts the spirits.
A documentary was made about the remarkable career of Dream Alliance a few years ago. Dark Horse: the Incredible Story of Dream Alliance was released in 2015 and won the audience award at Sundance. It was a crowd pleaser of a doco, just like this fiction feature based on the true events.
As Jan Vokes, Toni Collette, with a Welsh accent, is the beating heart of this story. When her idea of raising a racehorse took hold, Jan was working as a barmaid, a cleaner and a supermarket cashier, supporting her unemployed, arthritic husband.
She managed to convince her husband, Brian (Owen Teale), to buy a brood mare. Rewbell was going cheap at $300 and the couple were delighted to take her.
The mare becomes part of the family, joining an assortment of ducks, geese, goats and a large shaggy dog that is allowed to sleep on the couple's bed. Their adult children long gone, Jan and Brian maintain a strong interest in raising various birds and animals, something for which they seem to share a vocation.
The eccentricities of the Vokes and many of the other townfolk are revealed without condescension. The director, Welshman Euros Lyn, whose career has been spent mostly in television, is very gentle with the town's oddball characters. One suspects that another directorial sensibility would have worked harder for laughs at their expense.
The screenplay by Neil McKay, who is also from television, is lively and well written, a tableau of small-town life as well as the story of a champion.
To pursue her dream, Jan needs business advice and teams up with Howard Davies (Damien Lewis), a local tax accountant.
Jan and Norman invite expressions of interest from the townsfolk to form a syndicate to help with the costs of getting Rewbell impregnated and her foal raised to race. The proposal is taken up with surprising enthusiasm, despite Howard warning that there's a 1 per cent chance the horse will ever win a race.
So why do it then? For the high. For the emotional energy and motivation lacking in this little corner of Wales.
Collette is superb in the role of a woman, kind and loyal, who aspires for more from life. Nothing comes undone as a result of her ambition.
Something of her spirit is transferred to Dream Alliance, the "allotment horse" that comes from the back of the field in his first race to win by a couple of lengths.
After several placings in subsequent races, he next wins at Aintree on his way to the big prize.
There are many moments when the film steps back to take in the beautiful rural locations. The vistas of the soft Welsh countryside evoke a strong sense of place. Even Welshman Tom Jones gets to sing lustily on the soundtrack. Welsh pride is everywhere.
I'm not so sure that those close-ups of Jan eyeballing Dream Alliance work, as though the horse's drive had to come from his owner. Those scenes were not necessary, but that's a minor quibble about a crowd-pleaser that feels good from start to finish.
For Jan, life in the village has become rote. Her children grown, she works in the local food co-op and a pub. She cares for her aged parents and seems to merely coexist with her husband, Brian (Owen Teale), who is glued to farming shows on the telly. When she overhears a tax advisor (Damian Lewis) discussing his racing syndicate, she gets the itch for competition, long dormant since her days racing pigeons. First, she convinces her husband to buy a thoroughbred mare, Rewbell, and then she convinces the butcher, the banker, the bartender, the barfly and more of her neighbors to join her syndicate for 10 pounds a week, with the intention of breeding a champion racehorse. Even with the promise of cash prizes, there’s a less than 1% chance of winning, so the group votes to do it for the “hwyl,” a Welsh word meaning “emotional motivation,” or “fun,” something of which they could all use a bit more.
But Dream Alliance is more than just a good time; he proves to be a surprise phenom on the track. So the syndicate alights from the sprawling green felt of the pub pool table to the sprawling green fields of the racetrack. Lyn captures the posh atmosphere and excitement of the environment, to which this group brings a sense of roughhewn enthusiasm.
Based on real people, it’s not hard to populate the syndicate with a motley crew of funny, quirky characters, but McKay pays careful attention to each one; their desires are carefully outlined, if not thoroughly sketched. There’s enough good humor and just a dash of vinegar to temper the tone from becoming too treacly or sentimental, though the triumphant moments are incredibly moving.
Lyn’s not-so-secret weapon is his leading lady, Toni Collette. Simply watching her ever-expressive face spectate nervously is a thrill as she cycles effortlessly through every emotion watching Dream Alliance do what he was born to do: race. As he streaks around the track, there’s an outside chance he might win. But for his owners, winning is just a cherry on top. Dream Alliance gives them a sense of purpose, companionship and community. He’s more than an escape from drudgery or a weekend pursuit. Wrapped up in that horse is a profound sense of hope, and a second chance to experience all that life has to offer.
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- ^ Wiseman, Andreas; Wiseman, Andreas (March 13, 2019). "Toni Collette & Damian Lewis To Star In 'Dream Horse' For Raw, Film4; Warner Bros UK, Cornerstone Also In The Saddle".
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas; Wiseman, Andreas (May 13, 2019). "Bleecker Street & Topic Studios Board U.S. Rights To Toni Collette-Damian Lewis Starrer 'Dream Horse' — Cannes".
- ^ Moody, Tom (12 May 2021). "Valleys roads closed this week as Hollywood stars film the incredible true story a barmaid who bred a Welsh National-winning racehorse". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 8 June2021.
- ^ Siegel, Tatiana (December 4, 2019). "Sundance Unveils Female-Powered Lineup Featuring Taylor Swift, Gloria Steinem, Abortion Road Trip Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ Lang, Brent (October 25, 2019). "Bleecker Street Buys Harvey Weinstein-Inspired Drama 'The Assistant'". Variety. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
- ^ Brew, Simon (March 13, 2020). "Eight more movies have their release dates pulled".
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Excess is the enemy of taste. Well, at least when it comes to pizza toppings. Add too much of a good thing and the ingredients quickly become indistinguishable, but done just right and an artful combination can become a symphony. Minimal means more, especially at Love Supreme, the Paddington pizza place known for its regular use of organic ingredients.
Here, pizzas take the form of creative inventions, with some familiar toppings in unfamiliar combinations. For fans of salty and vinegar-flecked flavours, there’s the Lola (olives, anchovies, capers, bocconcini), while the caramelised onions on the Big Brother are hard to ignore, especially when accompanied by potato and dolcelatte gorgonzola. However, the Surprise pizza makes for a good choice for the adventurous or indecisive.
There are other Italian dishes for those who aren’t partial to a pizza party; think antipasti, salads and pasta. There’s an accommodating drinks list too, boasting wines that stretch the gamut of Italian regions, a couple of classic cocktails to round it off and some Australian beers on tap. Finish with desserts ranging from Frangelico affogatto to a caramelised honey parfait.