The prodigiously gifted 11-year-old Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds is more poised and self-assured than many actresses three times her age. Often compared to the young Jodie Foster, Fanning has brought emotional gravity to almost every film she's made—the woeful exception being The Cat in the Hat, and even then she still comes off far better than miscast camera hog Mike Myers.
In Dreamer, the solid directorial debut of Coach Carter screenwriter John Gatins, Fanning effortlessly holds the screen opposite co-stars Kurt Russell and Kris Kristofferson in this sentimental but stirring film about a young girl's bond with an injured racehorse. Honestly moving without being manipulative, Dreamer benefits greatly from Fanning's vibrant presence in a narrative that's essentially Seabiscuit for 'tweens.

　　 Based on a true story, Dreamer takes place in the rolling hills of Kentucky thoroughbred country, where the Crane family has trained horses for years. Sadly, the family business has gone under, so Ben Crane (Russell) must work for an arrogant breeder, Everett Palmer (David Morse). At best, it's a tense arrangement for Ben, whose daughter Cale (Fanning) often accompanies him to the local racetrack. Here, she watches horrified as Palmer's beautiful, prize-winning filly, Soñador (Spanish for "Dreamer"), 英语影评 a broken leg while racing. Palmer is all set to put the filly down until Ben angrily intervenes. Fired by Palmer, Ben decides to take Soñador, or Sonya, as his severance pay. Although he's flat broke and can barely pay his two employees, Balon (Luis Guzman) and Manolin (Freddy Rodriguez), Ben thinks he can nurse Sonya back to racing health. To do so, he must first make peace with his bitterly estranged father (Kristofferson), who taught Ben everything he knows about horses. Yet for all their expertise, neither Ben nor his father could succeed if not for Cale, who takes decisive action to secure Sonya a place in the all-important Breeders' Cup Classic, where the filly is dismissed as a long shot.

　　 In the Dreamer press notes, Gatins states that he originally wrote the part of Cale for a boy, but changed it once he saw Fanning in Man on Fire. It was a smart decision, since the idea of a little girl taking on the almost exclusively male-run world of horse racing lends this classic "underdog" story much more dramatic weight. The scenes of Fanning, her cornflower blue eyes radiating intelligence, going up against hiss-worthy villain Palmer, or negotiating with a rich Saudi prince (Oded Fehr), are the film's most striking moments. Otherwise, Dreamer unfolds predictably towards the rousing finale, but to his credit, Gatins takes a fairly restrained approach to a story that could have easily descended into heavy-handed, maudlin dreck. Folksy platitudes and syrupy "feel good" moments are thankfully kept to a minimum in Dreamer, which co-stars Elisabeth Shue as Cale's supportive mother.

　　 Although Fanning is the primary draw for Dreamer's target audience, the film belongs just as much to Russell, one of those consistently good actors who's never quite gotten his full due, like Jeff Bridges and Jeff Daniels. He's excellent as the tough-minded yet sensitive horse trainer whose tenderness emerges around his daughter.

　　 Filmed on location in Kentucky and Louisiana, Dreamer is a family film that even adults may enjoy.