Dream Scenario (2023)

[Captain Crunch]

A hapless family man finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. When his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.  Starring Nicolas Cage (Wild at Heart, The Mask).

Bit of a wet lettuce this.  On the plus side it's not too long but considering the premise it really misses an opportunity.  The dream sequences start off promising enough but quickly run out of puff.  Remember that bit in one of the Elm Street films where the girl tries to run up the stairs and they go all gooey?  You can do great things with dreams, such a shame this film didn't bother. 

Nicolas Cage just does that actor thing of never closing his mouth.  I'm not sure who started that trend but it's really irritating. 

Not worth a trip to the cinema. 

[Rolf Lundgren]

The marketing has gone all in on this being Nicolas Cage's finest hour which does seem very unlikely. I think he's great but equally I'm sick of how hyped he is.

[Mister Six]

Is he that hyped? He's basically been (quite unfairly) regarded as a joke for decades, and has only enjoyed a recent public rehabilitation through the dubious means of becoming a meme. He's having a resurgence, but I dunno if he's really being hyped as such.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Is he that hyped? He's basically been (quite unfairly) regarded as a joke for decades, and has only enjoyed a recent public rehabilitation through the dubious means of becoming a meme. He's having a resurgence, but I dunno if he's really being hyped as such.

I wouldn't describe it as hyped either, I think Pig helped him regain his reputation as a talented actor as it's such a low key but really affecting performance, and (the not as good as I'd hoped it'd be) The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent highlighted that he was very self aware and quite happy to make fun of himself. Since then it's been a mix of proper acting and the odd comedy role, but he's no longer taking roles in z-list shit now that he's reportedly financially stable again.

[neveragain]

Sad to hear this isn't much cop.

[13 schoolyards]

he's no longer taking roles in z-list shit now that he's reportedly financially stable again.

Someone clearly didn't watch the very recent Sympathy For the Devil - which actually isn't *that* bad, but is just Cage and Joel Kinnerman driving around Vegas at night with Kinnerman looking increasingly worried while Cage sits in the back seat chewing the scenery and waving a gun around.

I feel like the fact he's still making films like this kinda proves the theory that Cage was taking on a lot of dodgy projects because he's an actor who really loves to work and doesn't mind taking on a so-so project if he can push things a little (and get paid). It's just that for a while there utter crap was all he was being offered, whereas now it seems like he's back being given the chance to appear in a slightly wider range of mid-budget movies

[Small Man Big Horse]

Someone clearly didn't watch the very recent Sympathy For the Devil - which actually isn't *that* bad, but is just Cage and Joel Kinnerman driving around Vegas at night with Kinnerman looking increasingly worried while Cage sits in the back seat chewing the scenery and waving a gun around.

I feel like the fact he's still making films like this kinda proves the theory that Cage was taking on a lot of dodgy projects because he's an actor who really loves to work and doesn't mind taking on a so-so project if he can push things a little (and get paid). It's just that for a while there utter crap was all he was being offered, whereas now it seems like he's back being given the chance to appear in a slightly wider range of mid-budget movies

That's a shame, I thought he had a higher level of quality control these days, but eh, maybe in the future he'll get a little choosier.

[dead-ced-dead]

That's a shame, I thought he had a higher level of quality control these days, but eh, maybe in the future he'll get a little choosier.

I doubt it. I think somewhere between meme machine and genuinely decent actor is his happy place.

[13 schoolyards]

It's Joel Kinnaman, dammit - not "Kinnerman". Clearly I watched all three Snabba Cash movies for nothing.

I suspect if Cage had been choosier with his acting roles, his career would well and truly be over by now. Pivoting* to flashy trash after the boring mainstream roles dried up didn't just keep him busy, it kept him interesting in a way you can't say about too many other actors who started work in the mid 80s

_{*I guess it's hardly a pivot considering he made Deadfall in 1993, but it took him a while after that to go all in}

[holyzombiejesus]

Always wonder what The Wrestler would have been like if Cage had got the role (as was initially the plan, I think) instead of Mickey Rourke.

[madhair60]

two bare ladies feeding me wotsits waffles while giving foot rub

edit: and they're wanking me off as well.

[Egyptian Feast]

Anyone seen the film where he screams about losing his testicle? I'm intrigued by the bizarre line reading, but not sure if I'm curious enough to watch the whole thing.

[C_Larence]

You'd be much better off watching Love Exposure and then never reading anything about the director.

[surreal]

Saw this yesterday, pretty much agree with the assessment.  Let down by a poor script and some weird choppy editing, starts to fall apart about halfway through.  Shame as it's a promising idea but it seems like they either had too many things they wanted to show or just had the ideas but no filling.  Everything felt quite thin, but it did get a good few laughs from the crowd I was in - mainly the uncomfortable

Spoiler alert

fart/cum/fart

[close]

joke
Definitely needed a LOT more dream sequences shown
6.5/10

[Small Man Big Horse]

I liked this a bit more than everyone here it seems, though I absolutely agree with the complaint that it didn't make better use of the dream sequences. I think I liked it so much because Nic Cage is so good in it, and the tone of the film amused me, but they could definitely have done a lot more with it and the central message seemed to me to be

Spoiler alert

"What if you were #Cancelled and it absolutely wasn't your fault, how awful would that be?"

[close]

wasn't really explored in enough detail. Still, it just about gets 7.5/10 as I did find myself really caring for the characters.

[greenman]

I spose you could argue it

I liked this a bit more than everyone here it seems, though I absolutely agree with the complaint that it didn't make better use of the dream sequences. I think I liked it so much because Nic Cage is so good in it, and the tone of the film amused me, but they could definitely have done a lot more with it and the central message seemed to me to be

Spoiler alert

"What if you were #Cancelled and it absolutely wasn't your fault, how awful would that be?"

[close]

wasn't really explored in enough detail. Still, it just about gets 7.5/10 as I did find myself really caring for the characters.

Spoiler alert

I would say that really felt like something which a bit of a sub focus, like the stuff poking fun at the advertising PR bollocks. The main focus to me seemed to be that the dreams are a reflection of Cage's characters personality, he's originally selfish and self involved so ends up as passive when he should be helping then the dreams start to reflect his sexual desire and his anger.

[close]

[Small Man Big Horse]

I spose you could argue it

Spoiler alert

I would say that really felt like something which a bit of a sub focus, like the stuff poking fun at the advertising PR bollocks. The main focus to me seemed to be that the dreams are a reflection of Cage's characters personality, he's originally selfish and self involved so ends up as passive when he should be helping then the dreams start to reflect his sexual desire and his anger.

[close]

I'd agree that was definitely a big aspect of it,

Spoiler alert

and the dreams suddenly change the instant he has that weird sexual encounter, though it seemed to me that they became violent while he was still enjoying the fame aspect. But then I guess they could reflect his self-loathing at having cheated on his wife, even if the character never seemed to be that concerned by his actions

[close]

.

[Led Souptin]

Just saw it and really enjoyed it

Spoiler alert

i think also the dreams were reflecting cage's ego or his drive for fame - he starts the film bitter that he isnt recognised for his work, even though he actually doesnt have any work because he hasnt actually started writing hie book. He becomes greedy for the spotlight apropos of no actual work and starts to wander from his previously cosy life and marriage. Then the dream cages start turning nasty.

Cage's character in this is constantly wishing for something more but not willing to earn it, always taking the easy option (even up to the very last moment in the film). Even his students presumably worked so hard that they found a way to monetise the dream projection thing while cage is constantly trying to flog something he hasn't actually created yet.

I may be a little off but it's what I took from it

Plus fart cum fart was hilarious

[close]

[surreal]

I'd agree that was definitely a big aspect of it,

Spoiler alert

and the dreams suddenly change the instant he has that weird sexual encounter, though it seemed to me that they became violent while he was still enjoying the fame aspect. But then I guess they could reflect his self-loathing at having cheated on his wife, even if the character never seemed to be that concerned by his actions

[close]

.

I thought this was clearer?

Spoiler alert

He's initially just drifting with no drive to write the book or anything, so the dreams are him doing nothing no matter what is happening.  He starts affecting people and suddenly reconnects with his wife, so the dreams turn sexual. Then he sees the article about his former colleague stealing his "antelligence" idea and he gets really angry and the dreams turn violent.  Not sure if there is a trigger for them to stop featuring him though

[close]

[Small Man Big Horse]

I thought this was clearer?

Spoiler alert

He's initially just drifting with no drive to write the book or anything, so the dreams are him doing nothing no matter what is happening.  He starts affecting people and suddenly reconnects with his wife, so the dreams turn sexual. Then he sees the article about his former colleague stealing his "antelligence" idea and he gets really angry and the dreams turn violent.  Not sure if there is a trigger for them to stop featuring him though

[close]

You're probably right, my short term memory is awful and I can't remember the timeline at all now.

[Led Souptin]

I thought this was clearer?

Spoiler alert

Not sure if there is a trigger for them to stop featuring him though

[close]

Possibly that he

Spoiler alert

finishes his (albeit shit) book

[close]

[Crabwalk]

This film really shoots its load half way through, at roughly the same time Paul does. The remaining running time is all fart, nae shite.

Shame, as it's a good premise and I did find the first half very funny, mostly due to Cage's performance. But the more it strains for Kaufman-esque resonance the more it suffers from comparisons with his work.

Nothing resolves in any meaningful way and you're just left wondering if the message really is 'ain't it terrible how well-meaning old white dudes keep getting cancelled for no reason'.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I saw this last night and liked it overall. I wouldn't call it Cage's finest hour (and 40 minutes) but it's a proper performance, rather than an extended meme, and a good one at that. Could it have gone more surreal with the dreams? Yes. Should it? I don't know. It would have added spectacle, but I don't see how it would have served the story.

It does skirt dangerously close to saying "these damn snowflakes" (not helped by his students being pretty obnoxious when they all turn on him). Taking it all literally, it's obviously absurd that he gets ostracised but I'd agree with earlier comments that it's a bit more nuanced than that when you look at how the dreams change in reaction to his actions. He's basically a sort of soft Walter White. Instead of making the dreams more surreal, the film might have benefited more from amping up the real world scenes. Some of the later developments, particularly the dream influencer device, clash with the fairly realistic tone.

This film really shoots its load half way through, at roughly the same time Paul does. The remaining running time is all fart, nae shite spunk.

Fixed.

[Tarquin]

Muddled is what's I say. Using City of Dreams at the end annoyed me as it also ends the wonderful True Stories.

[Great cinema experience though as a member of the audience got a huge giggle fit on the first fart then lost it completely for fart/cum/fart and did that trying to stop laughing but making it worse thing. This spread across the audience causing a collective snigger explosion that went on for five mins. And they say cinema is dead!]

[Noodle Lizard]

I didn't think much of it overall, for reasons you've all described, although I'll add that it has a similar kind of sneery perspective that bugged me earlier in the year with Beau Is Afraid (not surprising, perhaps, that Ari Aster has a producing credit on this).

But it had its moments. Cage puts in a solid performance and, yes, the farting and cumming was very funny.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

The central metaphor is actually quite on the nose.
This is about online celebrity and memification, where crowd reactions often amplify in a brutal way the slightest reaction.

Spoiler alert

The change in dreams occurs due to two separate events, shown in quick succession, and I'm not even sure that we see a dream between the two of them. First, there's the fart-cum-fart moment then his reaction to the article about the colleague who definitely stole the "antelligence" thing from him (and also did her own work, contrary to him who was only considering writing a book for years). That's when he behaves as a monster in everybody's dreams (starting by his younger daughter). It doesn't necessarily mirrors his psyche (when he was only passive in the dreams, he was already jealous of his former colleague, reeking of entitlement for something he had done decades ago) but these are things that happened and changed his image in the eye of crowds in a huge way.

[close]

[Mister Six]

The central metaphor is actually quite on the nose.
This is about online celebrity and memification, where crowd reactions often amplify in a brutal way the slightest reaction.

Yeah, absolutely. My problem is that it doesn't really have much to it beyond that theme. I get the feeling Borgli came up with the premise of a guy turning up in people's dreams - probably inspired by that meme doing the rounds a few years ago - then reached around for some deeper theme to give it form and direction, and chose this one more or less arbitrarily. None of it really seems to cohere into anything more than the sum of its parts, and the story could more or less have been the same if he'd accidentally wound up in some viral gif rather than dreams.

[13 schoolyards]

I found the final reveal - that he'd

Spoiler alert

somehow stumbled onto a way to project yourself into dreams that was rapidly degraded into this tacky commercial enterprise, and despite being a trailblazer he got nothing out of it but a bland kind of infamy

[close]

to be the kind of thing that they could have built an entire film around rather than throwing it in at the end.

The bulk of the film felt to me like an extended prologue - something that could have been covered in a few minutes or a conversation,

Spoiler alert

"I got famous by accident, it cost me my marriage"

[close]

and then gone forward with him trying to cope in a world with this new kind of social media he'd accidentally created.

[Mister Six]

Yeah, that would have been substantially more interesting.

[SteveDave]

Saw this last night and like most people here felt it shot its load after he did. I got another laugh at the way he was running in his daughters dream.