Review of The Dark Horse (2014) by Harry W — 06 Dec 2014

Serving as another opportunity to be enriched by New Zealand cinema, The Dark Horse sounded like another chance to get enriched by world cinema.

I can honestly say that The Dark Horse, if not perfect, was a really beautiful film. Built on the story about Genesis Potini, The Dark Horse is a rare example of a film which does not have to resort to fictional dramatization to enhance the effect of the tale. In a raw, organic format, The Dark Horse tells its story without having to dramatize things or add unnecessary elements, instead exploring its themes and getting its message across with a powerful sense of realism.

Every sport needs a good film about it, and The Dark Horse is a great film about Chess. But it is not only about Chess which is sensible considering that building an entire film on the basis of a simple board game would be ludicrous. In actual fact, The Dark Horse emphasises the fact that Chess was used as a way of encouraging intelligence and determination in the minds of local youths from New Zealand which helped to dissuade them from getting involved with gangs and crimes. One of the elements in The Dark Horse is the way that chess was used to help savour the existence of many people and give them a sense of passion, but at heart the focus of the film seems a lot more to be on the issue of mental health.

The Dark Horse has an inspiring story of chess as well as expressing the painful underside of New Zealand gang related culture explored largely through the way the character Nana is dragged through it all and Genesis Potini's efforts to protect him. The grim depiction of harsh life in The Dark Horse is done with a strong sense of legitimacy thanks to some powerfully realistic scenery and strong cinematography as well as the fact that director James Napier Robertson is able to bring the heart out of the story and establish a very strong atmosphere. The emotional strength of The Dark Horse is heavy because the screenplay is full of rich characters and serious concepts which all play into the atmosphere really organically. The Dark Horse is a truly affecting film because it is gritty and tense without absence of heart in the process, dealing with all the themes that come towards it with a true sense of powerful storytelling. For a film about so much, The Dark Horse manages to accept a lot of its fate and deliver a story worthy of the inspiring tale at the heart of the source material with some of the most powerful New Zealand cinematic strength since the masterpiece Once Were Warriors.

I didn't mind the slow pace or the simplicity of the film, but I found that the main subplot was not explained too perfectly. The primary subplot in The Dark Horse is about the relationship between Genesis Potini and how he assists Mana in bettering himself at Chess and turning his life away from the harsh reality that his father has him forced to live in. The final moment in the film shows a resolution to this problem, but a lot of what occurs during the scene is left strictly to implications and it doesn't capture the truly complicated emotions of all the characters in the scene, simplifying it a bit. The resolution of the film is not the best one, but it isn't enough to damage what the rest of the film spends building up to.

And the leading performance of Cliff Curtis makes The Dark Horse unforgettable. The Dark Horse really plays for sentimental value, and it succeeds almost entirely on the basis of Cliff Curtis' award worthy leading performance. The role of Gensis Potini is a truly complex and inspiring one, and Cliff Curtis seamlessly rises to the challenge with ease. He projects the mental handicap of the character physically through a distorted line of sight and sense of imbalance while maintaining it emotionally through a sense of misguided views on the world. Through doing this, Cliff Curtis is easily able to capture the sympathy of viewers because he conveys that he is a well meaning and likable person without his handicap being anything more than a limitation on him which he works truly hard to transcend. The quality of Cliff Curtis' performance is impeccable as it touching and incredibly realistic in conveying the stress and mental suffering of someone with bipolar disorder without failing to emphasise the inspirational work he did with the children in the local community. Cliff Curtis is incredibly perfect in the role because he brings attention to the suffering that people with mental illness have to undergo while also proving that they are as normal as anyone else in the world with the power to really change it, and it is never with the slightest feeling of commercialism. It always feels real, and that is a thoroughly beautiful thing.

James Rolleston also makes a powerful effort. In the part of Mana, James Rolleston's role is mainly built on stoicism and a subtle sense of development that occurs as the story progresses. He is able to interact with the surrounding cast with an amiable sense of tension. His role is mainly built on establishing how much of a hero Genesis Potini really was by bringing him out of the hole that had been dug for him by his father. James Rollerston has a simple role to play in the story and he does it well, mainly by conveying the sense of darkened fear that has overcome the character and through sharing a strong chemistry with Cliff Curtis.

So The Dark Horse may not answer every little question that it asks, but it is a powerful story of the seedy underside of New Zealand life which s anchored by powerful themes of determination in youth, complicated exploration of mental illness and an absolutely unforgettable leading performance from the immensely talented Cliff Curtis.