Dream Scenario

Okay so Nicholas Cage has a new movie out. Now at this point we should know that I am not a Nicholas Cage fan. I think 90% of his filmography is absolute garbage and that he is one of the most overrated, below mediocre actors of all time. On the other hand this latest film, Dream Scenario, is also a product of A24. And they have only disappointed me once, their track record is fantastic. So we are combining one of my all time favorite sources of films with one of the things I hate the most about film. So here is my full review of Dream Scenario.

So one of my favorite things about A24 is that their films are so good with commentary. Whether it be social or interpersonal A24 films always have something to say and the message is always very clear. Dream Scenario was a great look into how society responds to people. The movie mentions “cancel culture” a few times. And though I don’t believe that cancel culture is actually a thing, I think that the way that the movie draws attention to the fact that society persecutes people for existing was very well done. We have this man who through literally no fault of his own starts showing up in people's dreams. The world treats him like a celebrity. Then those dreams turn violent and suddenly people treat him like he’s actually a violent, terrible person. All based on what their own personal subconscious imagined and nothing that he actually did. Sounds like how the internet has reacted to every young, female actress in the last decade.

I LOVED the ending. Sometimes writers feel the need to resolve things that need no resolution. This movie doesn’t do that, it ends with the main character getting what he wants throughout the whole movie, validation. More importantly, validation from his wife. When all of these people start dreaming about him, he never appears in his wife’s dreams. He so desperately wants to be recognized and validated by literally anyone for anything. So when he actually tries to infiltrate his wife’s dreams and it finally works it's like his wife is finally giving him the validation that he wants.

The movie was also not afraid of itself. When the dreams turned violent the movie held audience contact. Every time he attacked someone we saw every second of it. There was no cutting away when it got bloody. So the audience experienced the full weight of what the characters went through. They also did a great job of creating a main character that you kind of care about, but he’s also really boring and pathetic so you also don’t really care about him.

Overall I think the movie was a very A24 film. It felt like something the studio would have produced long before the Oscar attention (not that the recognition really changed it's production style but it did force the studio to no longer be considered indie). I actually didn’t hate Nicholas Cage. I think this was the perfect role for him. The way I tried to describe it to my husband is; I don’t think Nicholas Cage is good for very many roles, and this one was perfect. But I don’t necessarily think that he was the perfect person for the role. I think if he was switched out with someone like Christian Bale that movie quality would be the same. I would give this movie a really solid 8.5/10. It’s a good watch that knew exactly what it was and it is rewatchable but I don’t think it broke any new ground.