Secretariat
(G), 123 mins, 3/5
There is a lot to like about Secretariat - both the champion racehorse and the movie.
Based on the true-life exploits of the great stallion in the early 70s, the movie brilliantly captures the hardship and emotion that everyone associated with the horse endured.
"Big Red" was one
of those champions that came from nowhere.
Bred for speed, he wasn't first choice when his ownership was determined, leaving Penny Chenery (Diane Lane, pictured) to work out what to do with him while also trying to keep afloat the stud and training operation her father had spent a lifetime building.
In Secretariat she saw tremendous hope - and a champion.
If only others could share her enthusiasm.
Slowly she assembled a team around her of talented and determined people - people who could help carry the horse over the line.
A spectacular two seasons was not enough for the sceptics; they wanted the horse to prove itself in the big races.
The Triple Crown stood before Big Red - three races that hadn't been claimed by one horse in 25 years.
The critics wondered why Chenery thought she could do what no one had been able to do for a generation.
The Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes were within his grasp, but surely this "sprinter" couldn't take away the crown over a mile and a half?
Secretariat is certainly not a horse racing movie. It is about people and their drive and ambition.
It is about a brave and strong woman overcoming the odds.
