What we want to believe...
> Secretariat
4 stars (out of 5)
Director: Randall Wallace
Cast: Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Dylan Walsh, Margo Martindale, Nelson Ellis, James Cromwell, Scott Glenn, Otto Torwarth
Rating: (G)
When you see a movie based on a true story it helps if you don't know much about the facts, because Hollywood has a nasty habit of treating facts as the jumping-off point towards an artistically crafted story arch.
Disney is the studio behind Secretariat (Rialto) and has given us a family-friendly tale of a hard-case horse only his owner, humble housewife Penny Chenery (Diane Lane) believes in.
If Secretariat doesn't win the triple crown Penny stands to lose the farm her daddy built, which is supposed to get us on the edge of our seats. In truth the farm had already been saved the year before Secretariat's big run, by another horse, Riva Ridge, who had won two of the three big races.
But showing Miss Chenery as a competent owner with more than one horse is not as much fun as having her looking soulfully into the horse's eyes, waiting for him to tell her if he is up to racing the next day and, let's face it, that is what sentimental city slickers want to believe happens.
If you are looking for a nice family film where people never give up on their dreams you could do worse.
Best thing: Though you never doubt Secretariat will pull it off, the story of the horse known as Big Red still gets you.
Worst thing: All the stuff about Penny Chenery's home life and how hard it was to be a woman in a man's world is too genteel to get us to care. Lane was supposed to look like Jackie Kennedy but the president's wife she really reminds you of is Pat Nixon.
See it with: Someone who longs to go to pony club, not someone with their own TAB account.
- Christine Powley
