Nicholas Cage is everything, everywhere, all at once. Well, at least in your dreams, he is. Dream Scenario is such a delightful film. It's so good that it's frustrating that it's not even better.
What I mean is that Dream Scenario has a concept so inspired and subversive, and a lead in Nicholas Cage that has all the markings of a cinematic icon. The sequences, especially in the dream realm, are as magical as they are frightening. This is filmmaking come completely alive. I couldn't tell what was coming next from scene to scene and I loved that.
But with all that said, I think the story closes out in a way that doesn't properly bring things all together. Unlike films like Groundhog Day or Being John Malkovich, it feels as though Dream Scenario struggles to come to a satisfying conclusion of Paul Matthew's bizarre predicament.
Paul Matthews never realizes that he has dominion over everyone else's dreams. He doesn't master his otherworldly craft. Instead, his newly found fame consumes him and destroys everything in his life. Meanwhile, The dreams that everyone has of him start as curious, then terrifying, and then they just stop happening all together. We are never given the reason why. Only at the behest of technological software given to him does he go back and tries to fix the life that his dreams ruined, but even then, it's too late. In the end, Paul Matthews is just a hapless victim of a phenomenon that comes and goes. Perhaps that's just how this kind of thing would go in real life. Maybe it would be just as tragic as this film makes it appear.
Flaws aside, this is the exact kind of movie that A24 does best. This is a freewheeling ride that doesn't stop being a good time. Kristoffer Borgli is a name I'll be keeping an eye on and you should be too. This is his first big feature in the USA, and it showcases just how fresh and talented of a storyteller he is.
What I mean is that Dream Scenario has a concept so inspired and subversive, and a lead in Nicholas Cage that has all the markings of a cinematic icon. The sequences, especially in the dream realm, are as magical as they are frightening. This is filmmaking come completely alive. I couldn't tell what was coming next from scene to scene and I loved that.
But with all that said, I think the story closes out in a way that doesn't properly bring things all together. Unlike films like Groundhog Day or Being John Malkovich, it feels as though Dream Scenario struggles to come to a satisfying conclusion of Paul Matthew's bizarre predicament.
Paul Matthews never realizes that he has dominion over everyone else's dreams. He doesn't master his otherworldly craft. Instead, his newly found fame consumes him and destroys everything in his life. Meanwhile, The dreams that everyone has of him start as curious, then terrifying, and then they just stop happening all together. We are never given the reason why. Only at the behest of technological software given to him does he go back and tries to fix the life that his dreams ruined, but even then, it's too late. In the end, Paul Matthews is just a hapless victim of a phenomenon that comes and goes. Perhaps that's just how this kind of thing would go in real life. Maybe it would be just as tragic as this film makes it appear.
Flaws aside, this is the exact kind of movie that A24 does best. This is a freewheeling ride that doesn't stop being a good time. Kristoffer Borgli is a name I'll be keeping an eye on and you should be too. This is his first big feature in the USA, and it showcases just how fresh and talented of a storyteller he is.