In her feature film directing debut, popular Australian actress Rachael Griffiths presents the heart-warming story of Michelle Payne, the first female jockey to win the prestigious Melbourne Cup. As Netflix continues to propel Australian filmmaking, this biographical drama presents yet another untold Australian story of courage and commitment and the issues faced by those who are seeking glory in the sport they are most passionate about.
Becoming the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup in 2015, the story of this dedicated sportswoman is one that needed to be told. Payne was the youngest of 10 children and her father, Paddy Payne, was a notable horse trainer that helped to develop her passion for the horseracing industry. From an early age, Payne always loved horseracing and with the help and guidance of a loving father, she managed to create a career as a female jockey in the Australian horse racing industry, one which is still, to this day, a heavily male-dominated sport. In her famous speech after winning the race, she told all the people along the way who believed that she couldn’t do it to “get stuffed” showing that she had her fair share of naysayers.
The movie follows the life of Payne and her family through early struggles and the challenges faced through societal norms of the time, always trying to steer her in other, more acceptable directions. Despite the challenges she faced, Michelle Payne never gave up on her dreams and the resounding success she has experienced is attributed to her strength of spirit and her courage of conviction.
In the final scenes of the movie, the 2015 Melbourne Cup takes place. Despite all Melbourne Cup race tips being against her, Michelle Payne rode Prince of Penzance to victory on 3rd November 2015 giving her a place in the history books. This was a win which she dedicated to her brother who had always been a keen supporter of hers and plays himself in the movie. With a supportive family always by her side Payne has achieved an incredibly successful career in the horseracing industry despite her gender and beyond her Melbourne Cup victory, has continued to become one of the industry’s most respected horse trainers.
Ride Like a Girl features popular Australian actor Sam Neil as the biggest name in the film, playing Payne’s father, Paddy Payne. The role of Michelle is played by Summer North as the younger actor and Teresa Palmer as an adult, both of whom give inspirational performances. Most notably, Michelle Payne’s brother, to whom she dedicated her win, plays himself in this movie. Another notable Australian actress who features in this film is Magda Szubanski playing Sister Dominique.
This film was released on Australian Netflix in 2019 and released globally by Paramount Home Video in 2020. The movie has grossed almost $9.5 million worldwide with $8.75 million of that coming from the film’s release in Australia. The movie contributed over $13 million to the Victorian economy over the 9-week shoot and provided over 500 skilled screen jobs to Victorians.
This is a strong and important story for women and girls everywhere which is presented with beautiful cinematography and a well-paired musical score. This is both a heart-warming and inspiring movie to watch on Netflix in Australia.
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