Film Review - Dream Scenario
You’ve been on my mind recently.
Nicolas Cage – Hollywood’s own embodiment of italic text – returns to flaunt his nouveau shamanic prowess in A24’s Dream Scenario; the tale of a schlubby family man who unexpectedly gains celebrity status when millions of strangers start seeing him in their dreams. Nipping at the heels of his equally biting 2022 satire Sick Of Myself – Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli once again offers a wildly inventive, insightful and truly hysterical parable on media consumption, cancel culture and the circus of celebrity: complete with fart jokes, crossbow homicide and fantasies of David Byrne.
When Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage), a tenured professor of evolutionary biology, inexplicably begins appearing in other people’s dreams, he is involuntarily thrust into the spotlight and rapidly becomes an overnight star and cultural force. It’s in this characterisation that Cage really shines – adding a textural density to the character of Paul. On the surface, Paul is meek, feeble and struggles to stand up for himself. But once his meteoric rise to sudden celebrity quickly devolves to pariahdom as the dreams begin to take a sinister turn – a different side begins to emerge from beneath the façade; an arrogant, slightly vindictive and self-pitying presence who struggles to leverage his notoriety for personal gain. The sheer breadth of Paul’s complexities as a character is testament to Cage’s stellar acting versatility – exemplifying his long-standing capability in transforming seemingly one-dimensional personalities to memorable cultural touchstones that linger like peanut butter on the brain.
Speaking of density, Dream Scenario has a LOT to say. It tackles the privileges and disadvantages of celebrity; cancel culture; mob mentality; anxiety and existentialism; media consumption and virality; masculinity; the culture wars; there’s a lot to dissect. The only issue is that much of its core allegorical concepts become somewhat undisciplined – instead leaving surface level exploration that lack the thorough examination they deserve as we rapidly pivot from one parable to the next. Despite biting off a little more than it can chew, Dream Scenario manages to course correct through its hybridised Lynchian/Kaufmanesque approach which builds to a satisfying, heartfelt and insightful conclusion. But on top of that, it illustrates an eloquent amalgamation of different genres, managing to blend surrealism, horror, dark comedy and fantasy – all seamlessly abetted by creative sound design and framing.
Insightful, fiendishly hysterical, and (albeit slightly overwhelmingly) emblematic, Dream Scenario is a surrealist delirium that moulds one of 2023’s most inventive premises into a deeply moving, melancholic parable on the perks and perils of sudden celebrity. Emboldened by another stellar Nic Cage performance that embraces the film’s enigmatic and surrealist nature – this film will not only assert itself as another touchstone of the Cageissance era, but also illustrates that Kristoffer Borgli is a name with which you should absolutely familiarise yourself.
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Dream Scenario is screening in cinemas from Monday January 1st.