Storyline
An inspirational true story of a group of friends from a working men's club who decide to take on the elite 'sport of kings' and breed themselves a racehorse
Taglines:
The incredible true story of Dream Alliance
Country: UK
Language: English
Release Date: 3 Jan 2015
Filming Locations: Wales, UK
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
(2015) Dream Alliance now lives in comfortable retirement. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating:
Who doesn't love a rags-to-riches story, especially when that
unbelievable tale didn't come out of the mind of some writer in
Hollywood but was, in fact, true? Such is the case with barmaid Jan
Voxes and her wild idea to convince a group of locals, later known as
The Alliance Partnership, to invest in breeding a championship racing
horse. With the coalition in agreement, they set in motion the
procurement of their potential equestrian moneymaker, Dream Alliance.
While the initial bouts were not promising, the stallion proved to have
as much heart as he did might. As the company makes astonishing
accomplishments, they are soon challenged with a horrific tragedy and
only the strongest of fighters comes out on top. You can't help but
smile as these "village idiots" invade the sophisticated "sport of
kings" and bring all us yahoo audience members along for the ride. The
sheer joy and passion Voxes has for her horse forces onlookers to shed
a tear of sadness and joy in one blink. There are few films that jolt
you to the core forcing you to stand up and cheer, but Louise Osmond's
feel-good account is pure perfection that'll have you not only on your
feet but jumping up and down as well. -Jimmy Martin
Plot
Romance blooms between two thirty-somethings in arrested development: an avid toy collector and a woman who is the dark horse of her family.
Release Year: 2011
Rating: 7.2/10 (214 voted)
Director:
Todd Solondz
Stars: Justin Bartha, Selma Blair, Zachary Booth
Storyline Romance blooms between two thirty-somethings in arrested development: an avid toy collector and a woman who is the dark horse of her family.
Cast: Justin Bartha
-
Richard
Selma Blair
-
Miranda (formerly 'Vi')
Zachary Booth
-
Justin
Mia Farrow
-
Phyllis
Jordan Gelber
-
Abe
Aasif Mandvi
-
Mahmoud
Tyler Maynard
-
Jiminy
Peter McRobbie
-
Arnie
Donna Murphy
-
Marie
Mary Joy
-
Lori
Di Quon
-
Waitress
Christopher Walken
-
Jackie
Lee Wilkof
-
Phil
Melisa Young
-
Wedding Singer
Stephanie Mas
-
Dancer
Release Date: 3 Jan 2011
Filming Locations: Clinton Diner, Maspeth, Queens, New York City, New York, USA
User Review
A 'sad comedy' quote, unquote the director. Or in other words, a tragedy decorated by comedy.
Rating: 8/10
Being someone who has seen most of Todd Solonz's movies, you know what
to expect from him. And you won't get disappointed. I had the
opportunity to watch the Middle East premiere of Dark Horse at the Abu
Dhabi Film Festival. It was an even bigger experience to have Todd
present during the screening, and give it an introduction as a 'sad
comedy, where it's up to you to laugh or not'. I don't know how big an
impact this particular statement had on my state of mind throughout the
movie, but I cant help mentioning the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed
it.
The story revolves around Abe, a thirty-something who works for his
father, pampered by an extremely loving mother, having a highly
accomplished doctor as his brother, and having a passion for collecting
toys. When he meets Miranda, a strangely damaged soul going through
some serious depression, he begins to think of getting out of his
desperation by having her as a partner. They eventually enter into a
seriously unstable relationship, where you even begin to question
whether there really existed any element of a relationship between
them.
The beauty of the movie lies in the director trying to portray the dark
side of the unstable mind, through imagery. One of the scenes which
really got to me is where Abe is supposedly in a toy store, demanding a
refund for his fiancé whom he wants to return, insisting that he has a
receipt which as the store staff points out has its date smudged out.
Even though this scene is a figment of his fantasy, it really goes to
show how Abe perceives things in life. A few other incidents involving
the unseen affection Marie (secretary to Abe's father) has towards Abe,
and Miranda's ex-boyfriend Mahmoud, all seemed to perfectly blend into
the movie.
Needless to say, Christopher Walken played a strong part as Abe's
father, so did all the other characters including Selma Blair as
Miranda. However a big part of the movie's success lies in the solid
performance by Jordan Gelber as Abe, who i felt was just apt for the
role and did total justice to it.
Final verdict: A story involving a dysfunctional (or perhaps semi-
functional) family, two out-of-the-normal characters and their
seemingly unstable relationship, brilliantly presented in the form of a
comedy - which makes you laugh and at the same time think about the
appropriateness of laughing. Entertaining, and thought-provoking.
0