Cinemas are reopening, the sun will be shining, horses will be winning: summer 2021 is all about feeling good. All of those elements come together in the true story of Dream Alliance, an unlikely racehorse bred on an allotment in Wales – now coming to the big screen in the form of Dream Horse. The new movie sees Toni Collette and Damian Lewis finding themselves, against all odds, in Wales. That's right, accents and all.
Collette, who last convinced us she could play terrifying mothers like nobody else in both Hereditary and I'm Thinking Of Ending Things, here shows a softer side as real-life barmaid Jan Volkes, who convinced her neighbours to help her raise Dream – despite having no experience whatsoever in breeding horses, let alone race-winning ones.
One of said neighbours is local tax adviser Howard Davies – that'll be Lewis – who Jan overhears discussing a racehorse he used to own himself and ends up helping her out with, that's right, her dream. Like Collette, it's quite the change of pace for Lewis –long gone are his Homeland days. Joining the leading duo will be Owen Teale, Joanna Page, Nicholas Farrell and more.
Dream Horse first premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival before anyone knew what social distancing was, and will be raring to leave the stables the second we're all allowed in cinemas again. It's currently scheduled to reach cinemas in just under a month, on 4 June. A story of big-hearted ambition, hard work and perseverance for one of our first trips back to the pictures? Sounds about right.