As this year’s Paris Olympics drew to a close, thousands of plans were made on social media, with people who can barely run a mile wondering what the best way to get into the Olympic Village in four years’ time. Breakdancing wasn’t that difficult. Maybe air rifle shooting? But the consensus seems to be that the dream arena is equestrian, where fancy horses do most of the work, and where the medalists are all heirs, aristocrats, or children of rock legends. First of all, all you have to do is win the lottery.
Unfortunately for up-and-coming Olympian Jolie Dumont (Kaya Coleman) in Prime Video’s drama Beyond Black Beauty, she experiences a reversal of fortune. Her luxurious life in Belgium, blessed with gorgeous top-class horses, comes to an abrupt end when her parents divorce and her mother (Sagine Semajuste) sells her horse and returns her to her middle-class home in Baltimore. . It was up to Jolie to adapt to her new life of keeping her dreams alive and standing out at school, but she was able to find purpose in training the wild horse Black Beauty.
In case it’s not already clear, the series is loosely based on Anna Sewell’s 1877 novel, which is told from the perspective of a horse and which inspired a passion for animals in the hearts of many children. I did. This story is told from a human perspective, but it puts an interesting twist on a well-known tale. The Wild West is full of black cowboys, and there aren’t many black equestrian athletes on the Olympic podium, but this sheds light on a little-known African American horse culture.
The show is well shot. The sense of freedom and strength that Jolie and the other characters feel on horseback is elegantly conveyed. But I’m often disappointed by its monotonous, untextured dialogue. The family speaks to each other in melodramatic monologues, as if projecting onto an audience at the back of the room, most of which end with a hug.
Its saccharine comfort eases the tension even in the more dramatic developments. Knife-wielding bullies and gangsters have proven to be mostly harmless. What’s really disappointing is that, despite its fluttery approach, it’s humorless. Even the punchline for Jolie’s dim-witted cousin Ronnie (Gina James) is so poorly set up that it’s almost unrecognizable.
The show asks us to focus on Jolie’s relationship with her investor father (Gilles Marini), but that’s just the opening scene where Jolie reads her Sewell novel. He’s a one-note character. Jolie says she misses him, but seems to long for her past life and the trappings of wealth more. She shows this through a series of ornate headbands to distinguish herself from other girls at school.
Her mother is less tied to her past (though she still wears designer belt buckles). It is unclear whether she truly loved her husband or just wanted to escape life in Baltimore. Although she supports her daughter on the surface, their relationship becomes increasingly mysterious. When the opportunity arises for Jolie to get back on track as an Olympian, it looks like she’ll have a lot of gift horses in her mouth.
The actors do their best to sell deep emotion by staring off into the middle distance as melancholy piano music plays. It’s all so subtle that the bonds between the various mother-daughter pairings feel shallow. Coleman is the most charming of them all, but she does her best work when she bonds with her four-legged friends rather than her family.
It’s hard to begrudge this show, even if it’s clumsy and bland, and its depiction of European grandeur is more akin to Disneyland Paris than Brideshead Revisited. Its heart is in the right place, with the aim of inspiring children to follow their dreams. It’s full of great horse moments and may inspire young viewers to find purpose in horseback riding, animal care, and sports. It’s a shame because the destination is much more interesting than the journey. There’s nothing more fun watching Beyond Black Beauty than plotting your own fantasy route to the Olympic Village.
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Beyond Black Beauty is on Prime Video
