RIDE LIKE A GIRL
***
Director: Rachel Griffiths
Screenwriters: Andrew Knight and Elise McCredie
Principal cast:
Teresa Palmer
Sam Neill
Stevie Payne
Brooke Satchwell
Anneliese Apps
Magda Szubanski
Country: Australia
Classification: PG
Runtime: 98 mins.
Australian release date: 26 September 2019
Previewed at: Sony Pictures Theatrette, Sydney, on 16 September 2019.
This is the stuff that dreams are made of… in this case, a young Aussie girl, Michelle Payne (played by Teresa Palmer), dreams of winning the Melbourne Cup, not as a punter but as a jockey. This is not just the world’s toughest horse race for an equestrian of any sex but the riders have always been almost exclusively male - you can count the number of female jockeys who have ridden in the Cup on the fingers of one hand since Maree Lyndon became the first woman to compete in it in 1987. In other words, for a woman to win she had to conquer on two fronts, the track itself and the innate sexism of the industry. In actor Rachel Griffiths’ feature directorial debut, Ride Like A Girl, Payne’s remarkable true story has been brought to the silver screen in all its triumph but it must be said at the start that it’s a place-getter rather than an outright winner. Still, it’s a result that Griffiths can be proud of - her film will certainly pay out in multiplexes around the country.
The Payne family, comprised of 10 children and their widowed father, Paddy (Sam Neill), live on a property in rural Victoria. They are a close-knit, gregarious group, who maintain an atmosphere of camaraderie as they go about their daily chores. Paddy is a horse-trainer and most of the kids are happily involved in the job of looking after horses or are jockeys themselves. Michelle (Teresa Palmer) is the youngest child and she leaves school at 15 to take up the serious training required to become a professional jockey; her plans are thwarted, though, when an older sister is involved in a tragic accident on the track and Paddy, who’s always called Michelle his “Little Girl”, becomes more reserved. When he ceases to encourage her in her desire to race, a rift develops between them and the pair become estranged. She is, however, still supported by her brother Stevie (a charming performance by Michelle’s real-life sibling), who’s a strapper with a prominent trainer. Michelle is determined to succeed and when she eventually encounters the six-year-old gelding Prince of Penzance, she somehow knows that he is ‘the one’ - and, indeed, he is. No spoilers here, we all know that she rode the Prince to first place in the 2015 Melbourne Cup (from barrier 19 at odds of 100-1!), stunning the racing world, making global headlines and capturing the hearts of Australians.
Griffiths details Payne’s life from her early days at home and school through to her ultimate success in a straightforward, matter-of-fact way but, with the exception of Paddy, she only lightly touches on the people who influenced her. There are many minor roles played by many familiar faces: Magda Szubanski has fun as a nun with a penchant for gambling and Sullivan Stapleton is charismatic as the trainer who eventually supports Michelle’s determination and recognises her aptitude as a jockey. Other well-knowns cropping up in supporting parts are Mick Molloy, Shane Bourne, Brooke Satchwell, Henry Nixon and Genevieve Morris. David Hirschfelder’s Irish-influenced soundtrack leans heavily on the tin whistle and it works well but the addition of a few contemporary pop numbers is a tad heavy-handed. Martin McGrath’s stunning cinematography captures the natural beauty of the bucolic Victorian terrain but it’s another DOP who captures the exhilarating racing scenes - often we’re in the thick of the action, in amongst the horses speeding along the track. These images have been deftly edited by Jill Bilcock and Maria Papoutsis and they’ve given the film a rhythmic pace that suits the material.
Griffiths and the many female creatives in her team have done a good job of ratcheting up the tension as the big race draws closer and, even though we know the result, you can’t help but feel anxious and excited for the prospects of this inspirational young woman. Andrew Davies and Elise McCredie’s script does occasionally lapse into sentimentality but, for the most part, this is a gutsy tale that is delivered with honesty and integrity. Go girls!
Screenwriters: Andrew Knight and Elise McCredie
Principal cast:
Teresa Palmer
Sam Neill
Stevie Payne
Brooke Satchwell
Anneliese Apps
Magda Szubanski
Country: Australia
Classification: PG
Runtime: 98 mins.
Australian release date: 26 September 2019
Previewed at: Sony Pictures Theatrette, Sydney, on 16 September 2019.
This is the stuff that dreams are made of… in this case, a young Aussie girl, Michelle Payne (played by Teresa Palmer), dreams of winning the Melbourne Cup, not as a punter but as a jockey. This is not just the world’s toughest horse race for an equestrian of any sex but the riders have always been almost exclusively male - you can count the number of female jockeys who have ridden in the Cup on the fingers of one hand since Maree Lyndon became the first woman to compete in it in 1987. In other words, for a woman to win she had to conquer on two fronts, the track itself and the innate sexism of the industry. In actor Rachel Griffiths’ feature directorial debut, Ride Like A Girl, Payne’s remarkable true story has been brought to the silver screen in all its triumph but it must be said at the start that it’s a place-getter rather than an outright winner. Still, it’s a result that Griffiths can be proud of - her film will certainly pay out in multiplexes around the country.
The Payne family, comprised of 10 children and their widowed father, Paddy (Sam Neill), live on a property in rural Victoria. They are a close-knit, gregarious group, who maintain an atmosphere of camaraderie as they go about their daily chores. Paddy is a horse-trainer and most of the kids are happily involved in the job of looking after horses or are jockeys themselves. Michelle (Teresa Palmer) is the youngest child and she leaves school at 15 to take up the serious training required to become a professional jockey; her plans are thwarted, though, when an older sister is involved in a tragic accident on the track and Paddy, who’s always called Michelle his “Little Girl”, becomes more reserved. When he ceases to encourage her in her desire to race, a rift develops between them and the pair become estranged. She is, however, still supported by her brother Stevie (a charming performance by Michelle’s real-life sibling), who’s a strapper with a prominent trainer. Michelle is determined to succeed and when she eventually encounters the six-year-old gelding Prince of Penzance, she somehow knows that he is ‘the one’ - and, indeed, he is. No spoilers here, we all know that she rode the Prince to first place in the 2015 Melbourne Cup (from barrier 19 at odds of 100-1!), stunning the racing world, making global headlines and capturing the hearts of Australians.
Griffiths details Payne’s life from her early days at home and school through to her ultimate success in a straightforward, matter-of-fact way but, with the exception of Paddy, she only lightly touches on the people who influenced her. There are many minor roles played by many familiar faces: Magda Szubanski has fun as a nun with a penchant for gambling and Sullivan Stapleton is charismatic as the trainer who eventually supports Michelle’s determination and recognises her aptitude as a jockey. Other well-knowns cropping up in supporting parts are Mick Molloy, Shane Bourne, Brooke Satchwell, Henry Nixon and Genevieve Morris. David Hirschfelder’s Irish-influenced soundtrack leans heavily on the tin whistle and it works well but the addition of a few contemporary pop numbers is a tad heavy-handed. Martin McGrath’s stunning cinematography captures the natural beauty of the bucolic Victorian terrain but it’s another DOP who captures the exhilarating racing scenes - often we’re in the thick of the action, in amongst the horses speeding along the track. These images have been deftly edited by Jill Bilcock and Maria Papoutsis and they’ve given the film a rhythmic pace that suits the material.
Griffiths and the many female creatives in her team have done a good job of ratcheting up the tension as the big race draws closer and, even though we know the result, you can’t help but feel anxious and excited for the prospects of this inspirational young woman. Andrew Davies and Elise McCredie’s script does occasionally lapse into sentimentality but, for the most part, this is a gutsy tale that is delivered with honesty and integrity. Go girls!