The Dark Horse

Bravery is contagious.

– The tagline for this film

…it's a stunningly confident piece of work with barely a wrong note in it … James Napier Robertson's script is about as good as it could be — no fat, no unnecessary subplots, and every beat carefully crafted.

– Radio New Zealand reviewer Simon Morris, on show At the Movies, 7 August 2014

You talk dreams to those tamariki, you better follow through.

– Noble (Kirk Torrance) to Genesis (Cliff Curtis)

Oh, you're 'better'? You're banging on my bedroom window at 4:30 in the morning, because you wanna join a kids chess club — and that's 'better'?

– Noble (Kirk Torrance) to his brother Genesis (Cliff Curtis), in the excerpt

I put on a lot of weight. I had to eat a lot of food, drink a lot of beer, and play a lot of chess ... I'm just obsessed with the game. I go online and play speed chess. I love chess now.

– Cliff Curtis on preparing to play Genesis Potini, Stuff website, 24 July 2014

[Cliff Curtis] dominates the screen as the mercurial Gen. It's a breathtaking performance, note perfect in every gesture, mesmerising in its conviction. Top marks too, to rising star James Rolleston as teenager Mana...

– English critic Mark Kermode, reviewing The Dark Horse in The Observer, 5 April 2015

. . . while the main character might appear to share something in common with the protagonists in films like Shine and A Beautiful Mind, director-writer [James Napier] Robertson has no intent of romanticizing mental illness or adhering to tired, triumph-over-adversity conventions. There’s a grit and a dread that hang over this underdog tale, which infers that any potential happy endings will be bittersweet at best.

– The Hollywood Reporter in a rave review, 11 September 2014

It's a beautifully nuanced, heartfelt, yet clear-eyed biopic that's likely to become a Kiwi classic...

– Critic Lydia Jenkin in the NZ Herald, 17 July 2014

. . . an emotionally potent story of redemption anchored by a heart-piercing lead performance from Cliff Curtis.

– The Hollywood Reporter in a rave review, 11 September 2014

It was an exceptional role, so it required an exceptional process.

– Cliff Curtis on putting on 26 kilograms and staying in character during filming, The Washington Post, 15 April 2016

I've been thinking. He's ready. I want him in.

– Ariki (Wayne Hapi) asks if his son can join the gang

They don't need some big delusional tournament. They don't even have parents. Just f***ing gangs and jails . . . They need people who are going to show up.

– Noble (Kirk Torrance) to his brother Genesis (Cliff Curtis)