Dream Scenario review

DREAM SCENARIO: 

NICOLAS CAGE GOES CRAZY IN YOUR DREAMS! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

A24

Nicolas Cage in Dream Scenario

 

            Nicolas Cage (Face/Off, Pig, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent) stars as a man who mysteriously appears in other people’s dreams in Dream Scenario, the new black-comedy from Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself) and producer Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau is Afraid). I was excited for this movie when I first saw the trailer and especially after Cage’s recent successful streak with films like Pig and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talentthat practically reignited his career after many ups and downs. 

            I have not seen Borgli’s previous film, Sick of Myself but after watching this I just might have to because Wow! Dream Scenario is one of the wildest films I’ve seen all year that’s only rivaled by Aster’s Beau is Afraid and exceeded my expectations on just about every level. 

            The film follows Paul Matthews (Cage), a mild-mannered biology teacher who finds his life turned upside-down after discovering millions of people suddenly started seeing him in their dreams. What starts off as viral fame quickly turns into fear and psychological trauma as his nighttime appearances start taking a nightmarish turn and forces Paul to navigate his newfound stardom. 

            The film also stars Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County, I, Tonya, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) as Paul’s wife Janet Matthews, Michael Cera (Superbad, Juno, Scott Pilgrim VS the World) as Trent, Tim Meadows (Wayne’s World 2, Mean Girls, Trainwreck) as Brett, Dylan Gelula (Chasing Life, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, I Want You Back) as Molly, Dylan Baker (Road to Perdition, Spider-Man 2 and 3, Trick ‘r Treat) as Richard, Kate Berlant (Sorry to Bother You, Don’t Worry Darling) as Mary, Jessica Clement (Pure) as Paul’s daughter Hannah Matthews, Noah Centineo (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Charlie’s Angels (2019), Black Adam) as Dylan, Nicholas Braun (Sky High, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Succession) as Brian Berg, and Amber Midthunder (Hell of High Water, Prey) as Haley. 

            Overall, Dream Scenario is one of the most unique films of the year and while some may draw comparisons toA Nightmare on Elm Street at first glance (There’s even a couple references to Freddy Krueger in here), the connection stops after a guy who appears in others’ dreams. This is an example of a film that takes familiar concepts and creates something new out of them with thoroughly entertaining and even unpredictable results. 

            I would have been fine with just Nicolas Cage invading people’s dreams, but what’s so ingenious about the setup for this movie is that it’s an allegory on celebrity gossip and cancel culture that just happens to use Nicolas Cage in dreams as the driving point. We see it all the time through news tabloids, the internet, and even word of mouth where people misinterpret things done by celebrities or make conspiracies about them with details that aren’t there, and this film shows the effects it has on both the person and everyone around said person with Nicolas Cage’s Paul practically being dumbfounded and confused by how others are reacting to him. 

            People in this movie will tell Paul to leave a restaurant just because they had a terrifying dream involving him or even call him out in panic for harming someone even if it was unintentional and by complete accident. The film depicts these situations and themes in the most outlandish and hilarious ways possible to the point where you just can’t help but laugh. 

            What makes this film work is Nicolas Cage’s performance and after seeing him in things like Pig and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, I can say this is his best of the three. When you need a crazy person to go into people’s dreams I can’t imagine anyone else more suitable for the job than Nick Cage and he is fully committed to delivering the comedy, creepiness, and even tragedy of the character and situation he’s in with some of the best scenes involving him trying to piece together what’s going on with the people around him and why everyone is acting so strange. 

            Dream Scenario is a wonderful and fearless movie that isn’t afraid to go weird with its subject matter while still offering a mesmerizing and thought-provoking experience. You could almost consider this a continuation or spiritual successor to the 2002 Charlie Kaufman/Spike Jonze film, Adaptation (Which Cage also starred in) as it does have a similar feel to that movie except replace screenwriting with dreams. 

            It’s a fresh and funny film that always keeps your interest with Nicolas Cage unleashing his crazy side in our dreams and we are grateful for his presence here. I’ll see all of you in my dreams.