Dreamer; Inspired by a True Story

Being the thoroughbred racing enthusiast that I am I watched the movie Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story the other night. It starred Kurt Russell as the father, Elizabeth Shue as the mother, Kris Kristofferson as the grandfather, and Dakota Fanning as the child. The story is that a horse trained by Russell breaks a leg during a race. The manager not only fires Russell but wants to put the horse down. Russell takes the horse as part of what he is owed. Any dolt can see where the story is going. It’s nicely filmed but I can’t say the racing scenes are great.

I was more intrigued with which horse was the inspiration. Indeed, there was a horse that came back from a broken leg to win a Breeders Cup Race. The year was 1995 and Mariah’s Storm was the horse. She is also famous for being the dam of Giant’s Causeway, one of the recent great horses. But I’m afraid the resemblances between reality and the film story end there. The film is pure fantasy. But I’m a sucker for racing stories so I sat back and enjoyed it.

In looking through the web I note that there are many other folks who also enjoy horse and horse racing stories. I found several lists of horse movies and have jotted a few of them down. I also found that some folks really enjoyed putting Dakota Fanning’s acting down. I found her facial expressions quite charming, a more than passable actress. I think she needs work on her diction. Some of her lines I could not understand. I’m anxious to see how she does in Charlotte’s Web, just recently released.