Dream Horse, directed by Euros Lyn and starring Toni Collete, is a feel good flick that is designed to warm your heart with its simplicity. The film starts in a way that most comedy drama films start, the protagonist wakes up in the morning and the audience starts to see what a day in the life of Jan Vokes, Collete, looks like. Jan lives on a farm and the more the audience watches her day unfold, we start to see more of how she interacts with her community and her place in the world.
Jan is a checkout operator at a supermarket and we are quickly shown the repetitive nature of her work. The audience also later sees Jan working at a local bar, and as she starts to clean up the tables she notices Howard Davies, Damian Lewis, in the corner of the bar retelling the moment he saw his horse win at a race. This appears to be the moment of inspiration for protagonist Jan as she starts her research into the world of horse racing and finds an ad in the paper for a mare for sale.
Jan buddies up with husband Brian, Owen Teale, to embark on this adventure. Jan hands out flyers and rounds up members of the community, including Howard. Jan points to the ad in the paper for the mare and the group discusses that they need to find a suitable stallion if they want to breed a race horse. Jan uses up all her savings to buy the mare and the group agrees on how they will split the earnings.
The audience is taken on a journey as the small town Welsh community breed a horse which is later named Dream Alliance. It appears that the one consistent thread in the film is Jan’s unwavering belief in Dream Alliance. There are a few moments where Jan simply wishes for Dream Alliance to push through and because Jan looks at the horse with intention he miraculously does.
Colette plays the loveable and kindhearted Jan well in this film but it doesn’t feel like a Herbie film where you are rooting for the underdog. Dream Horse will give you the warm fuzzy feelings but it won’t necessarily surprise you. If you enjoy horse racing infused with smalltown Welsh spirit you are going to get something out of this film. I was surprised to see this wasn’t an Australian film given the leading star but it does bring back horse racing films to the big screen. I look forward to seeing what comes next.
In theatres June 10, 2021