Toni Collette, Damian Lewis, Joanna Page, Owen Teale
Toni Collette stars in this rousing story of triumph over adversity, via one woman’s extraordinary ambition to breed a champion racehorse in her home village. Helmed by Welsh TV director Euros Lyn, it’s a dramatic take on the true story covered in documentary form in Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance in 2015.
When Jan Vokes (Collette), a Welsh cleaner and bartender, overhears a customer (Damian Lewis) at the pub talking about a racehorse he once owned, she is inspired to acquire her own. Managing to persuade her neighbours and friends to invest in her crazy scheme, they proceed, naming their foal ‘Dream Alliance’ and rearing him together. Against all odds, he rises through the ranks and proves himself to be more than a match for the multi-million pound racehorses he comes up against – a true people’s champion from a working class Welsh community, taking on the equestrian establishment at their own game.
Determinedly crowd-pleasing and very well-crafted, Dream Horse explores the impact of this triumph for all in this small but eclectic community and features excellent performances from Collette and Lewis in particular, amid a wider cast including Owen Teale, Siân Phillips and BBC TV’s Gavin & Stacey‘s Joanna Page.
