FCN Movie Club - Dream Scenario (2023)

Hello movie fans. Today I want to talk to you about a movie that brings a curious mix of fantasy, comedy and drama; adding a touch of horror. This film stars the famous Nicolas Cage and, considering how little famous it became, it has a story and a plot that can be interesting. The film was written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli and features a cast of actors, including Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Dylan Gelula and Dylan Baker. If you are interested in watching a film that talks about collective dreams, this is the one for you.

The film introduces us to Paul Matthews, a professor of evolutionary biology at a local university who dreams of publishing a book of his own that he hasn't even written. He lives married to Janeth, both have two daughters, the youngest of whom has been dreaming lately of her father, Paul, who is there while she is having strange things happen to her, like floating away on her own. One day, he is confronted by his former colleague, who is writing an article on a topic the two have discussed decades ago and plans to publish it. Paul asks him to give him some acknowledgment for the paper, which doesn't happen. In the evening, after seeing a play, he runs into his former partner with his wife, who is a journalist who lately has been dreaming about him as well.

Clare, the journalist, decides to publish an article about the dreams and asks Paul to let her mention him in it. Our professor agrees, to which comes a series of messages and comments from hundreds and even thousands of people who have been dreaming about him, including his students, friends and some colleagues. In almost all of the dreams, he does nothing, showing a passive and unemotional attitude as some catastrophe occurs. This causes Paul to begin to be recognized more easily on the street, which causes him to achieve a lot of fame due to people's dreams. However, such fame will cost him dearly, as from one day to the next these dreams will turn into nightmares for millions of people.

Next, I will leave you the trailer of the movie:

As a fan of Nicolas Cage, watching this movie (at the last minute) is very exciting, as he has been getting involved in somewhat complex roles lately. His talent when it comes to playing a character is quite remarkable, and we can see this in this film, which, while it's true that he didn't manage to be as famous or even slightly remembered today, you can see some acting and character work that is quite attention-grabbing. Especially for the themes he mentions, the way he is and the unique style he has of performing and adapting to more than one character in particular.

The detail of this film is in the fact of the dreams, which are never explained why such a phenomenon occurred and became so collectively huge. Giving some allegory or reference to horror classics such as "Nightmare on Elm Street", our protagonist becomes the center of attraction for many people, who dream about him, appearing as an unwanted guest. The catastrophic events that occur in each dream give him that touch of frustration and accelerated imagination that a whole society is used to seeing him every night, unconsciously.

However, the detail of all this is the same character played by Nicolas Cage, Paul Matthews, who begins as a simple middle-aged professor, married and with daughters who dreams of being recognized for his work and his knowledge of biology. As he becomes famous for the phenomenon of people's collective dreams of him, he seeks to take advantage of this fame to fulfill his one dream. However, in this process, we can see a somewhat selfish and indecisive side as he gets mixed up and makes decisions that do not suit him at the time. His mood and his way of being changes, allowing himself to be affected by fame and repercussion. This is reflected in collective dreams, which turn into nightmares, thus leading him to ruin.

The way this movie mixes comic, awkward moments with drama and finally with horror and even some psychology is interesting. Although the credit goes mostly to Nicolas Cage with his incredible work and performance, the work that was given at the time of presenting us with unreal scenarios and taken from a very active imagination gives it that fictitious and fantastic touch that attracts a lot. The photography styles, the soundtrack and the dialogues that the film has complement very well this unique experience of a dream world with a single protagonist. The ending, a bit depressing, is one of the few things I didn't like about this film, actually.

Personally, I give it a score of 8/10 for the fantasy/comedy/drama/horror genre.

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All the best.

By: Nattosheru.