The Cup

Editorial

Aussie director Simon Wincer knows a thing a two about the nags. With Phar Lap and The Light Horsemen already under his riding-belt, the Free Willy helmer takes on the race that stops a nation — the Melbourne Cup.

Set in 2002, The Cup follows the true-life story of the Oliver brothers, two siblings jockeying for pole-position as their family’s Number One horseracing son. When Jason Oliver (Daniel MacPherson) is killed on the track, his brother Damien (Stephen Curry) is close to quitting. His Irish trainer Dermot Weld (the always awesome Brendan Gleeson) waits patiently, as Australian sports fans holds their breath.

Sporting movie clichés abound, the training montage gets a healthy workout and there is slo-mo air-punching aplenty as the main event approaches.

When the race day arrives, it is an incredible experience. Wincer’s camera gets right into the heart of the action at the famed Flemington racetrack. The race is a thunderous cacophony of stampeding hoofs, flying mud and deafening noise that often overwhelms.

Authenticity is maintained with a who’s who of Aussie acting talent playing a cavalcade of horseracing royalty, including a delightfully gruff Bill Hunter as trainer Bart Cummings.

The Cup, despite some cloying moments of overwhelming cheesiness, is a thoroughbred experience that charges the heart with emotion.

Rory Meyer