Griffiths’ firm hand keeps Payne bio-pic on right track

Director Rachel Griffiths retells the Melbourne Cup triumph of Michelle Payne with a lack of sentimentality that serves her audience well

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RIDE LIKE A GIRL

Three and a half stars

Director: Rachel Griffiths

Starring: Teresa Palmer, Sam Neill, Sullivan Stapleton

Rating: CTC

Running time: 96 minutes

Verdict: A sure bet

Rachel Griffiths directs this handsome biopic about Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne with a steady hand — and one eye on the finish line. The lack of sentimentality with which the actor-turned-director recounts Payne’s triumph-over-extraordinary-odds will no doubt meet the approval of its gutsy subject, but it also serves the audience well.

Griffiths’ clear intention, with this inspirational drama, is to pay tribute to Payne’s unparalleled athletic feat, but in so doing, she doesn’t gloss over the controversies — such as the jockey’s tendency to test her limits on the track (which resulted in another, 15-meeting suspension for careless riding earlier this year).

Theresa Palmer and Sam Neill in a scene from Ride Like A Girl.

The first-time feature director also gives an appropriate weight to Payne’s painful rift with her father, Paddy (Sam Neill), but this is conveyed as much by what is left unsaid as it is in the actual dialogue, and that seems entirely appropriate for the characters involved.

All of which adds up to a contemporary piece of mythmaking, told in an authentic Australian vernacular.

Certain key scenes in the film — such as the Christmas pudding incident, in which Payne and her brother Stevie polish off said item under the dining room table while the rest of the family is eating their lunch — feel like the stuff of family legend.

Ride Like A Girl documents Payne’s story from her rough-but-loving childhood on a farm near Ballarat, in central Victoria, through to the historic day on which she became the first female jockey ever to win a Melbourne Cup — at 100-1 odds — on Prince Of Penzance.

Teresa Palmer and Stevie Payne in a scene from Ride Like A Girl.

The film chronicles her early life in the tumultuous Payne household — Michelle’s mother died in a car accident when she was six months old, leaving behind 10 children, all of whom appear to have inherited their father’s love of horses.

Coming from a family of jockeys, it’s a natural choice for Payne to follow in her older siblings’ footsteps. But when her oldest sister, Brigid, dies after a fall, Paddy becomes more cautious. And so his impatient youngest daughter decides to go it alone, only to be ignored by the other trainers.

Theresa Palmer as Michelle Payne in the triumphant Melboourne Cup-winning scene.

She spends many cold, dark, early mornings waiting in vain for a ride before finally fast-talking her way into the saddle. Ride Like a Girl portrays Payne as plucky, determined, and, well, driven to the point of obsession. Teresa Palmer steps into her character’s stirrups with courage and commitment. She is supported by Payne’s real-life brother, Stevie, who has Down syndrome — no other actor could have done the role justice.

It would be hard to go wrong with this story, but Griffiths gives it just the right amount of rein.

Opens September 26

Originally published as Griffiths’ firm hand keeps Payne bio-pic on right track