Starring Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning. Written and directed by John Gatins. (G) 98 min. Opens Oct 21.
Dreamer could just as easily be called Careless Idiot:
the film's characters exercise as much self-control as a drunken
gambling addict who desperately places his wedding ring on the poker
table.
After spending months rehabilitating Sonador, an injured
horse, Ben Crane (Kurt Russell) surrenders control of the animal to his
10-year-old daughter, Cale (Dakota Fanning). When a wealthy horse owner
offers to buy Sonador in exchange for $100,000 and a job for her
unemployed father, Cale declines, opting to keep the horse in hopes of
winning the Breeders' Cup Classic. This decision is particularly
imprudent given that Cale's family is unable to pay the $120,000 entry
fee. But take a cute little girl, some slow-mo race shots and a
triumphal score, and a stomach-churning tale of recklessness becomes a
story of redemption.
The characters' paths to salvation are painfully straightforward, using the Sea Biscuit
script as a map. Obviously, the overweight retired jockey Manolin
(Freddy Rodríguez) is not going to overdose on heroin or save Christmas
-- the wounded character is there to lose weight, gain confidence and
hop back in the saddle. The theme of intergenerational conflict is
similarly predictable as Ben patches up his strained relationships with
both his daughter and his father (Kris Kristofferson).
The eerily
self-assured Dakota Fanning seems determined to secure post-pubescent
popularity -- the actor even took a pay cut for this year's
Hide & Seek
in order to get top billing next to Robert De Niro. But if Fanning
really wants to be the next De Niro, she'll need to start picking more
original material. In real life, lame horses rarely win.