Typical Yet Effective
Damien (Stephen Curry) and Jason Oliver (Daniel MacPherson) were raised around horses and like his late father who died in a racing incident Damien has become a formidable jockey in his native Australia. With the Melbourne Cup coming up the buzz is as to what horse Damien will be riding and when it is announced that legendary Irish trainer, Dermot Weld (Brendan Gleeson), is bringing over the headstrong Media Puzzle to Australia for Damien to ride the buzz reaches fever pitch. And it is heightened when Sheikh Mohammed, the Crown prince of Dubai, sends over his best horses to Australia to compete. But as the Melbourne Cup gets ever closer an event cause the memories of what happened to his father to cloud Damien's mind and knock his confidence to ride and race.
Whilst "The Cup" is based on a true story it is what I call a typical yet effective movie as the story has been told in one form or another many times before but despite the familiarity it is entertaining. As such credit to director Simon Wincer who has worked this familiar storyline nicely so that whilst right from the word go you feel like you already know what is coming he keeps you interested.
The thing is that there isn't a great deal to say about "The Cup" because it is ultimately familiar. You know that something is going to happen which knocks Damien's confidence and brings in to question whether he will be able to ride in the Melbourne Cup and of course in a moment of inspiration he does. Technically I should have said spoiler alert but it is so obvious that it isn't important. But there is some nice cinematography when it comes to the horse riding as well as nice performances from Stephen Curry and Brendan Gleeson who seems to have a knack for starring in lesser known movies which tend to be hidden gems or at least deserving of more attention.
What this all boils down to is that "The Cup" is as I have said a typical yet effective movie and so for those who like movies about horse racing with an inspiring slant this one is sure to entertain even though it is predictable even if you are unaware of the true story.
