Monday 1 January 2024

Dream Scenario

Official Australian release date: 1/1/24. Viewed: 2/1/24.
Director: Kristoffer Borgli
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Tim Meadows, Michael Cera
Genre: Drama
Rating: MA

‘Dream Scenario’ is a unique concept, with thousands of people seeing Paul (Cage) in their dreams, just walking through, not really participating in the dream. This then turns him into a celebrity, something Paul, his wife Janet (Nicholson), daughters Hannah (Clement) and Sophie (Bird), and boss Brett (Meadows) aren’t prepared for, especially as he has no control over what’s happening. The film does well to purposefully not explore the how/why it’s happening and focuses on the impacts on Paul.

Odd that a lot of places are billing this as a comedy – I’d say it’s a drama, with a few little laughs, which then diverts into mild horror at the end, as the dreams inevitability turn into nightmares. Cage is good, and not totally manic, but plays a Professor and normal dad well, who ends up at his wits end. The ending is not as dark as it could’ve been, but nor is it a nice comedy ending either.

There’s some existential questions and you obviously get to ask “what would I do in this situation?” But mostly it’s probably an indictment on modern society, especially the penultimate scene. The support cast is good – should also mention Molly (Gelula) & Trent (Cera) from the PR company who play significant parts. And always good to have a Talking Heads song to wrap things up!

Overall: Interesting “what if” scenario

Gav's Rating: 3 stars 

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