Dreamer Based on a True Story (2005)
Directed by John Gatins
Written by John Gatins
Starring Dakota Fanning, Kurt Russell, Kris Kristoffeson, Luis Guzman, Elisabeth Shue
Release Date October 21st, 2005
Published October 21st, 2005
In her short life young Dakota Fanning has not only become a movie star, she has proven herself to be a very capable actress. At a slight 11 years old Fanning has had several starring roles ranging from indies to blockbusters. She has crossed genres from light comedy in Uptown Girls to the Sci-Fi of War of the Worlds to the thriller Man On Fire. She has starred alongside elites like Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington and Robert DeNiro and often been as good or better than her more veteran co-stars.
Fanning's newest film, Dreamer: Inspired By A True Story, marks the first time Fanning can claim a film as her own starring vehicle. This little horse that could drama is at times more than a little sappy and sentimental but Dakota Fanning's performance makes the little extra schmaltz worth it.
In Dreamer: Inspired By A True Story Dakota Fanning stars as Cale Crane the daughter of a horse trainer, Ben Crane played by Kurt Russell. Living on a Kentucky horse farm with no horses, Cale dreams of one day filling the big empty barn. However, a family secret held between her father and grandfather Pop Crane (Kris Kristofferson) makes this dream seemingly impossible.
Though Pop also has a home on the property, father and son have not spoken more than a few words in years. Despite the rift Cale is allowed to have a good relationship with her grandfather who tells her fantastic horse racing legends and stories about the farm when there were horses raised there. This is another source of father-son tension. Ben has tried to keep his daughter at a distance from horses in hopes of shielding her from the kind of horse related trauma he experienced early in his life.
Whether it's her grandfather's stories or the fact that she's a little girl and all little girls love horses, nothing can keep Cale from joining her dad at the racetrack. Sadly, on her first visit to the track, Cale witnesses a horrible incident. Ben's horse Sonador, spanish for "dreamer", falls in a race and breaks a leg. The standard practice in this case is euthanasia however Ben refuses to put the horse down in front of Cale. Ben's refusal leads to a heated exchange with his boss, Palmer (David Morse), which ends with Ben being fired.
Using his severance pay Ben buys Sonador to keep her from being killed. Now the family's entire future rides on rehabbing Sonador so she can be used for breeding. However, when something miraculous happens, Sonador may just do more than breed a champion, she may in fact still be a champion.
The story is typical of the rote sports movie genre that director John Gatins has made his specialty. Though Dreamer is Gatins first directorial effort he was the writer behind Coach Carter, Hardball and Summer Catch. He knows all of the beats and rhythms of the genre, maybe even too well. The story is belabored and predictable but Gatins is blessed by his amazing cast which makes the bitter pill of cliche go down easy.
Dakota Fanning continues an unfortunate trend in her young career where her work outclasses the material. Dreamer is cloying, manipulative and entirely by the numbers but Fanning is believable, whip-smart and eminently watchable. Her sweetness never bubbles over into toothache territory and her cuteness is measured by her deep eyes filled with wisdom beyond her years.
The supporting cast greatly aides Fanning's performance. Kurt Russell continues to be the most underrated actor working today. Someday Russell is going to find just the right role to break him out of the mold of everyman and into the realm of the award-worthy actor he truly is. Kris Kristofferson is his reliably crusty self perfectly cast as the struggling father and doting grandfather.
The only disappointment in the supporting performances is poor Elizabeth Shue. Playing Fanning's mother, Shue's role revolves around nagging Russell's character to take more of an interest in their daughter. She comes on screen to frown when things look grim and smile when things look bright. The character has no depth or life of her own and is far too underwritten for an actress of Shue's talent.
Dreamer is a good natured and sweet story with a natural appeal to children, especially young girls. All little kids love animals but there is a unique connection between little girls and horses and Dreamer lovingly portrays this connection. Watching my sisters growing up and playing with toy horses and now my young nieces doing the same makes me wonder what the connection between girls and horses is.
Freud claims it's some kind of sexual thing which just seems creepy to me. I would like to believe it's something more complex than some base pleasure seeking. My mother claims it's about the eyes of a horse, empathetic pools that seem understanding and feeling. Also, horses need a great deal of care in grooming and feeding which could set off a mothering instinct. Whatever the reason, Dreamer taps the emotions of this unspoken connection perfectly.
Horses and Dakota Fanning are an irrresistable combination of cuteness, but that does not excuse Dreamer for being a too-typical sports movie. The film is far too simple in its storytelling and more interested in pulling tears from the audiences eyes than compelling those emotions with better storytelling.
Problems aside, the film works because Dakota Fanning is so appealing and entertaining. Fanning's performance alone is worth the price of admission.
Saccharine and a bit predictable Dreamer runs ahead of the pack of family sports movies because young Dakota Fanning is a real star. She has that intangible 'it' quality that makes you want to watch her and root for her. It's a quality that many child actors have had before but few have sustained it past puberty. Dakota Fanning still has a few years before the first tests of growing up a movie star begin. Until then it's okay to revel in slight sweet performances like the one in Dreamer.
