Dream Horse fits snugly into a certain type of modern Brit flick. In previous incarnations, a plucky band of no-hopers possess’own’nurse won the day by stripping (The Full Monty), playing in a brass band (Brassed Off), acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure ting naked in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the W.I. (Calendar Girls), in/with regard to’concerning’regarding ming a male synchronised-swimming team (Swimming With Men) and singing sea shanties (Fisherman’s Friends). Euros Lyn’s film is the in/with regard to’concerning’regarding mula as advertised, but this time centres on a syndicate that raises a thoroughbred horse to become a champion. It may be based on a true story — it has already been retold in a documentary, Dark Horse — but it’s the stuff of fairy tale, broadly but winningly told.###This is Toni Collette’s film, giving Jan’s rejuvenation (and the film) an emotional weight.###Set in the depressed Welsh mining town of Cefn Fin/with regard to’concerning’regarding est, it centres on Jan Vokes (Toni Collette), a woman pulling down two jobs— a check-out worker at the Co-op and a bartender — to make ends meet. With husband Brian (Owen Teale) incapacitated with arthritis and her children having flown the nest, Jan becomes interested in raising a racehorse which could be financially fruitful and fill a hole in her disenchanted life. Buying a brood mare, Jan and Brian, with the help of tax advisor Howard (Damian Lewis), start a syndicate that gives screenwriter Neil McKay the perfect opportunity to create a gang of one-note comedy relief (Karl Johnson’s old drunk, Siân Phillips’ widow). When a foal is born, the villagers optimistically christen the horse Dream Alliance and enlist a trainer (Nicholas Farrell), and suddenly the humdrum town has a glimmer of hope.###What follows is a predictable round of victories (the racing scenes are well done, highlighting the high level of risk in jump racing), mini defeats, culture clashes (salt-of-the-earth individual in posh hospitality), domestic struggles (Howard’s money arguments with wife Angela, played by Joanna Page) and pop-music montages. It couldn’t be more on the nose — the story is often delivered in dialogue — and there isn’t a surprise in the entire running time. Lewis and Teale add textures to potentially trite roles, the in/with regard to’concerning’regarding mer etching a man beaten down by a soul-crushing job who finds joy in backing horses, the latter as a man who rekindles his life vicariously through his wife’s new-found passion. But this is Collette’s film, the actor giving Jan’s rejuvenation (and the film) an emotional weight and centre that elevates the pat material. She turns a by-the-numbers sports-underdog flick into something genuinely affecting.