Ride Like A Girl - Text Analysis

The film Ride Like a Girl is the real life story of Michelle Payne, the first woman ever to win the Melbourne Cup. It is an inspiring story in which the director and writer have used Michelle's story to increase awareness of the challenges women face in male dominated industries.

One of the stylistic features the film uses is 'Flash-Foward'. At the start of the movie, there are several cut scenes of Michelle starting in the Melbourne Cup. This makes the audience aware that she is a professional jockey and gives context to the purpose and intent of the movie. It does not detract from the impact of the movie as it can be assumed that people are aware that it is the story of Michelle Payne and why she is famous.

Another stylistic feature of the film is the use of camera angles. Following a a serious accident, there is a scene of Michelle recovering in hospital. In this scene the director has used a lot close up shots to capture the emotion on peoples faces as they struggle with the idea that Michelle may have a significant brain injury. These close ups are used to great effect and help build empathy for the characters in the film.

The final stylistic feature used in the film is charactersiation. Michelle's character is portrayed as being a very determined, strong and powerful woman who has many obstacles placed in front her from being in a male dominated industry. An illustrative example of this is the scene in which the male jockeys make fun of Michelle for being a women and she puts them in their place using her wit and riding skill.

Ride Like a Girl effectively used several stylistic features to create a movie that built and sustained your interest by flash forwarding and effectively used camera angles and characteristion to build empathy, show the struggles of an outsider and determination of a champion.