Dreamland

Last night I was in the mood for a movie - any movie - and so I popped "Dreamland" out of the unseen stack of my DVD collection.

I did not expect all too much, so I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that it was actually very good.

The first thing I noticed was the beautiful photography. There are some really breathtaking shots, at least if you watch it on a big enough screen.

Secondly the story, while slow paced, is kinda nice and comes in several layers. Sort of a "feelgood-movie", even if all of the characters have their problems throughout the movie.

The acting was pretty good, but especially John Corbett blew me away. No more nice guy like in Sex and the City or the Greek Wedding. Instead he sometimes reminded me of Jeff Bridges in "The Big Lebowski". Which in fact is a big compliment, coming from a guy who watched Lebowski for Idontknow how many times.

Definitely a well-earned eight on my scale!

This is one of those movies that chills the heat out of your bones. It depicts a world in which white trash circles within its own boundaries and can't seem to escape from it. It's a movie about feelings and how to handle them in your daily business. Two young girls seem to be stuck in a provisionary trailer park called "Dreamland", those two girls only have themselves to cling to until a new family moves in, one of the new members is a college boy that aims at being a star at pro-basketball at a the local club. He's just a jerk with little prospects but he impresses both girls and hooks up with the one who has MS and is due to die soon. Maybe it's his compassion, that is not clear, she's the most beautiful of the two (not to my opinion), well if you like big breasts then maybe. However, the relation those two girls had, after the boy arrived deteriorates; for the girl with MS spends all of her time on him (who doesn't recognize that?) so the two girls don't have these long hours together reminiscing about their future anymore. But it's about more than that, it's about loyalty, caring for the ones next to you without consent, longing for an escape to break the inevitable circle of life. Despite some cheap scenes this movie is a desolate cry for help to the humans next to you, a solemn oath to the ones closest to you.

With echoes of Allison Ander's "Gas, Food, Lodging", "Dreamland" tells a believable and engaging coming of age tale through the eyes of Audrey, a recent high school graduate caught at a personal crossroads. She lives in the ironically titled trailer park in the middle of the desert called Dreamland, which acts as a place to dream of something more, but few hold the hope required to get anywhere else. It's a stunning work with a muted visual canvas, showing images that evoke the desolation and abandonment the characters feel. Agnes Bruckner, who gave a stand-out performance in the little seen gem "Blue Car", again shows true skill as she keeps her highly conflicted character from becoming maudlin.

This is an introspective film about a young girl named Audrey. Her mother has died, her father is agoraphobic, and her best friend is struggling with her health as well. They live in a beautiful area of New Mexico, but their home is a dismal trailer park. Audrey would like to escape this dead end life but sees no way out since most of the people she loves depend on her. This movie is about her (and their) journey to discover how they can escape their ruts.

The film is well made; the characters are all well developed, and Agnes Bruckner, John Corbett (in a big departure from his usual persona) and Justin Long (among others!!) all do a great job portraying their respective characters.

Unfortunately, this film won't reach a wide audience, but for what it's worth, I enjoyed it.

DREAMLAND is one of those little Indie films that sneaks up on you, draws you in and leaves you feeling fulfilled. Written by Tom Willett and directed with great sensitivity to both style and message by Jason Matzner, the film boasts a truly remarkable cast in every role and the ensemble acting is some of the finest in this year's lineup.

"Dreamland" is the name of a very small trailer park in New Mexico, out in the sticks, yes, but surrounded by the magnificence of majestic clouds in crystalline blue skies and a land free of industrial detritus - except for the powerlines that play such an important role in the story. In a sad trailer house live Audrey (Agnes Bruckner), a poet who has given up chances for college to remain with her father Henry (John Corbett), a man decimated by the death of his wife to the point that he is unable to leave the trailer even to buy the beer and cigarettes that sustain his life. Audrey also is caring for her closest friend Calista (Kelli Garner), a beautiful girl who dreams of becoming Miss America but knows her life is to be shortened by the fact that she suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. Audrey writes her poetry but her life is consumed by being the caretaker for Henry and Calista.

Into the trailer park moves a new 'family' - hunky young Mookie (Justin Long) and his mother ex-singer/performer Mary (Gina Gershon) and her live-in boyfriend Herb (Chris Mulkey). Audrey and Calista watch them unpack and while both girls find Mookie attractive, Audrey talks Calista into dating him. Audrey's only male contact is her 'sex-buddy', tacky and gawky Abraham (Brian Klugman) who works at the local convenience store with Audrey. Mookie and Calista begin an affair while Audrey looks on longingly, and when Calista lets Mookie know she has MS the relationship is strained: Mookie also is leaving for the university soon.

Audrey confesses her feelings for Mookie and Calista flees on a motorcycle to chase the now departed Mookie. She is in an accident and is hospitalized and since she has broken her relationship with her caretaker Audrey, Henry manages to draw enough courage to leave his trailer to sit at Calista's hospital bedside - along with visits from Mookie. Calista's accident makes her even more aware of her fractured future and she releases her feelings for Mookie, reconnects with Audrey, and Audrey's father discovers her many letters of acceptance to college she has hidden to prevent abandoning her role as caretaker and convinces Audrey to flow with her dreams instead of being imprisoned in Dreamland. And the manner in which each of the characters in the film resolves the changes now facing them is the tender ending of the story.

DREAMLAND is created by a very strong cast of fine actors who dwell solidly within their characters' psyches, making this somewhat surreal story very real indeed. The setting is extraordinary in its ordinariness and the camera-work by Jonathan Sela is impeccable. This is a strong story about coming of age, about quality of love, and about being human. It is a treasure. Grady Harp