Dream Scenario
Hapless family man Paul Matthews finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.
- Released:
- Runtime: 102 minutes
- Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
- Stars: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Kate Berlant, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Jennifer Wigmore, Domenic Di Rosa, Will Corno, Lily Gao, Agape Mngomezulu, Marnie McPhail, Jessica Clement, Star Slade, Noah Lamanna, Richard Jutras, Maev Beaty, Al Warren, Kaleb Horn, Philip van Martin, Liz Adjei
- Director: Kristoffer Borgli
Comments
- armandicoag - 1 July 2024
Art is subjective, as much as life itself
I understand that films are a work of art and that these are left to the individual questioning of each person, but in cases like this film, in which the majority of people are overflowing with praise about it, I wonder if there is something that I am not capable of see or understand.
In Dream Scenario, Nicolas Cage is a professional at the end of his life and his career, having failed in both aspects of his life, a life which turned out to be ordinary. This takes a 180° turn when for some inexplicable reason it begins to appear in the different dreams of many people, but with a common theme, it does nothing, it is just existing, regardless of what is happening in the dream.
After this the film makes a critique or introspection about how current society and its relationship with the use of social networks, how we manage and share information, how easily manipulated we are and how we are capable of elevating and glorifying a person, then and take it down from the pedestal on which we put it to end it, regardless of the consequences. But I can see little else through this film.
In the end, the situation for which the protagonist became famous ends up turning against him since instead of being in his dreams doing nothing, he begins to carry out violent and unpleasant acts against the people who dream about him and that generates the contempt of others. All the people and more than a few problems Everything ends up simply letting time pass so that people forget the situation, he ends up alone, without family, without recognition and perhaps with less success than he had at the beginning of the film.
If the film tries to show me something besides this, the truth is that I can't understand it and I can't say much more about the production values, perhaps the original script has a good basis but for me the story is not worth it. - cleedix - 6 June 2024
Skip the last 15 minutes
Other reviewers are correct. There is a scene towards the end where an educator at Paul's school hurts her hand and the screen fades to black. If the movie would have ended there, I would have rated it a 9. Instead, there's a fourth act with a dream bracelet that feels pasted on. Even if they would have kept everything but the dream bracelet, the movie would have been so much better.
Cage's performance as a tenured professor worried about his legacy who feels the world owes him something is pitch perfect. His disappointed mixed with curiosity as. Reaction to fame for something other than his life's work is also spot on. I didn't even know I needed to see Michael Cera as a CEO of an advertising agency, but him promising Paul whatever he wanted while obviously trying to steer him towards a deal that he had all but inked, was amazing.
I still wish someone had spoken up and told the editor to leave the part about the bracelet on the cutting floor. It almost seems like the original idea of the movie was about the bracelet and then the setup for the bracelet became more interesting than the bracelet story itself and the editors just couldn't let it go.
