Dream Scenario

DREAM SCENARIO is a very interesting movie that could generate a lot of post-viewing discussion. It asks some interesting questions about celebrity & "cancel culture." It did occur to me afterwards that the movie is completely ridiculous and posits a scenario that is beyond impossible, and thus, spending a lot of time talking about its implications seems a bit silly. But, I err on the side of it being a worthwhile intellectual exercise. To say nothing of being a terrific showcase for Nicolas Cage.

Cage is Paul Matthews, an aging, balding (and apparently always cold because he wears gigantic, ill-fitting coats throughout the film) tenured professor at a modest college. His students pay little attention to him (even though, to be honest, it seems like he's a more interesting professor than many I experienced myself). He leads a frustrating professional life. Early in the film, he has lunch with an very distant colleague who is preparing to publish a paper that touches on subjects that Matthews worked on decades ago. He feels these topics still somehow belong to him, and wants some credit for the paper. He mentions that he's working on a book on the topic...but it turns out he hasn't actually started writing the thing. It's an idea he has and apparently has had for many years. He's a guy who imagines doing great or interesting things, but it will never happen for him. We meet his loving wife (Julianne Nicholson, always under-rated) and his doting daughters. From the viewer's perspective, he's a bit of schlub. An uninspiring instructor, eaten up by his own failures, and sadly unable to see that his great family really means he's got it pretty darn good. Nice house. Nice kids. Nice wife.

But he's a bit clueless. And when he suddenly starts appearing in the dreams of millions of people around the world, he becomes a clueless celebrity (or at least, cultural phenomena). His classroom is full of people who want a selfie with him. He's on the news. He's written about. He's beloved. And he's done nothing to deserve the positive accolades. For some strange reason, he is a background character in the dreams of millions of strangers. He just hovers there, really doing nothing. But just the fact that he's at the center of this weird thing makes him popular. And when talent agents come calling, he sees his opportunity to get a book deal.

But then, things go abruptly wrong, and he goes from saint to demon overnight. None of it is his fault, but he's suddenly a pariah. And he handles it very, very badly...putting at risk everything good in his life.

It's all so unfair. Paul did NOTHING to make these dreams happen. The "character" he is in the dreams bears no resemblance to his true persona. He is right to rail against his vilification. Yet his own unpleasant character traits tee us up to NOT sympathize with him. Does he have it coming? Did his own flaws somehow taint his benign dream persona? Why doesn't the public understand that the dream Paul and the real Paul have nothing to do with each other?

It's all very interesting, and Cage makes it all matter thanks to the best performance he's given in some time. With this movie and the excellent, over-looked PIG...Cage demonstrates his true acting chops. Yes, he's delightful in THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT, but even in well-received films like THE COLOR OUT OF SPACE, his performances are over-the-top and even unhinged.

Enjoyable...absolutely. But fine acting? No. He's always a bit broad in his performances, but DREAM SCENARIO harnesses his energy and spins Paul Matthews into a complex character we can understand and feel things about. The script is tight and energetic and clever and funny. The supporting cast (again, special kudos to Nicholson) is on the right wavelength. And the questions the film asks are very relevant in our time of social media, overnight sensations and overnight demonizations. It's a fun film on the surface, very much worth it for Cage's well-done work...but it also rewards some reflection and discussion. I heartily recommend it.

The first eighty percent of this film was excellent - it felt like the best Stephen King story that King didn't write. The slow destruction of the life of an ordinary man for reasons which were completely outside his control was well-conceived, well-plotted and well acted. Nicholas Cage's performance was pitch perfect.

To an extent, this film can be seen as a satirical condemnation of social media fame and cancel culture, though that's secondary to the theme of mounting paranoia - both from Prof Matthews and the wider world.

The fact that this film started out as a project of Ari Aster is no surprise, as it has much in common with Beau is Afraid - notably the hapless and powerless central character and some surreal and blackly comic moments.

Then, in the last fifteen minutes or so, the film loses its way. A new element is brought in which pretty much undermines what had gone before. The result wasn't bad, exactly, but seemed to belong in a different film. I think it would've been better if the film had had the courage of its convictions and followed Prof Matthews to his logical fate.

For all that, it's an interesting film, and I would urge you to see it.

I must say first that Dream Scenario is not at all what I expected it to be. After falling in love with writer/director Kristoffer Borgli's previous film Sick Of Myself, then exploring all of his recent short films on YouTube, I thought I had a grasp on what to expect from Dream Scenario, but I was off and that makes it a bit more challenging to form a solid opinion on. One thing is for certain though: regardless of how much you feel like you are enjoying the film as you are watching it, this is the kind of movie that will have you thinking and talking about it, trying to find all the analogies, for some time afterwards. Though my girlfriend left the theater a total of 4 times due to anxiety, she pulled even more apt metaphor out of it than I did when it was over - it gave us a lot to discuss, far more than the average movie.

The overall tone was way different than I was expecting. The trailer had me thinking this would be a quirky adventure into dreams and personalities, but Dream Scenario is FAR more horror-leaning than I'd imagined. Having seen Borgli's previous work in combination with the choice to have Nicolas Cage as the lead, this really threw me off. Once you get into it, it often feels like the work of Ari Aster, which made a lot more sense to me when the ending credits hit and I saw that Ari Aster had produced it. Apparently Aster was originally set to direct this film with Adam Sandler as the lead, but after Sick Of Myself did well, Aster pushed to get Borgli in the director's chair for A24. Overall, the movie has its signature Borgli moments but it definitely feels like a combination of Borgli, Aster, and A24 vibes rather than simply a Borgli piece.

There is not nearly as much comedy as I thought there would be, and most of it is very subdued. I felt like I was laughing more than anyone else in the theater, and it was not much, to be honest. Laughs are simply not one of the primary focuses of the film, in my opinion. And on the subject of atypical focuses, there are hardly fleshed-out characters in this movie at all - they are more like archetypes or vessels that allow the themes to be explored. The way Cage's character works is that he is an effective "every man" in the sense that he's not really likable, but also not especially unlikable - he could be just about any average person, and that's the point. The real "main character" is society and their response to what's happening in a collective manner.

While it's not the most riveting or throughly enjoyable film, it is incredibly original and does seem to have a lot to say underneath it's surface of "simplicity". I was expecting something in the realm of Charlie Kaufman, but what I got was perhaps something I can't compare to almost anything else. At one point in the film, there is a book that is released, and when it does the character who wrote it exclaims "It was supposed to be called Dream Scenario", then the publisher responds, "Is there something wrong with the new title, I Am Your Nightmare?". I feel like this is a fitting summary of my entire experience with this film. I'm not sure if that was all set up on purpose, as a "haha" at the viewer's expense, but knowing Borgli and his specific style of genius-level trolling, I'd say he knew exactly what he was doing.

It was kind of hard to get into at first since the characters seem to come off kind of pompous and smug, which makes it hard to like them. Nic Cage's character comes off pretty pathetic and awkward - but that's the whole point. There were moments that were funny, but mostly I felt kind of uneasy. I think the camera was too close to the actors faces at times - that's probably what made me feel uncomfortable. It felt like I was invading their personal space. All that being said, this movie has probably one of the best fart scenes of all time. I would re-watch this movie just to experience that scene again lol.

Dream Scenario is a pretty interesting look at what social media fame - or just fame in general - can do to a person and all the negative effects that come with it. It also highlights the toxicity of cancel culture. I guess moral of the story is: don't go chasing fame. Although, Paul didn't really engage in pursuing fame, it kind of came to him through something that was out of his control. The concept of ant intelligence and how ants might share a sort of hive mind definitely was a really interesting concept. I love how they tie that into the main story of how everyone is dreaming about the same person. The concept of influencers invading people's dreams to advertise products was an insane concept. Overall, this movie was pretty darn good. It had an interesting premise and took a creative approach when exploring its different concepts. I'd re-watch this movie and I can definitely recommend it if you want something different.

First, I recommend going into Dream Scenario knowing as little as possible about the movie. Avoid trailers, even synopses (maybe even this review). Discovering the premise is as enjoyable as the rest of the movie.

But even after being amused by this unique and creative premise, it didn't seem like there was anywhere else for this idea to go. But there's no reason to worry. The directions it takes are just as creative as the premise.

Even though it's very different, this gave me Eternal Sunshine vibes, especially with how original it feels. The humor is fairly dry, which I normally don't like. But it made me laugh a decent amount, usually loudly. And there are a few moments that hit hard.

Nick Cage. Oh Nick Cage. I watch all his movies. Most are bad, but Dream scenario is part of the resurgence (along with Massive Talent). And even though most people just want to see his hilarious freakouts, here he reminds us that he is one of the most talented actors out there. I haven't forgotten. I would love to see it more often.

(2 viewings, 12/22/2023, 7/25/2025)