Nação dos Sonhos

Caroline Wexler (Kat Dennings) moves with her father to a small town. Thurston Goldberg (Reece Thompson) falls for the new girl. She has sex with her teacher Mr. Anderson (Josh Lucas). Ms. Budge (Rachel Blanchard) is the health teacher.

Kat Dennings rules this picture. She overpowers almost everybody in every scene she's in. She has an amazing scene in the girl's bathroom. If there is a problem, it's there's too many side stories going on. Much of it is used to create atmosphere. There's a serial killer roaming the town, and there's an industrial fire burning on the outskirts. Much of it is unnecessary and serves no purpose. Kat Dennings and the teen drama is more than enough.

In a small town where teachers sit in front of apathetic kids in the classroom and teenagers have nothing better to do than find household items that might get them high, "Daydream Nation" sneaks in and takes everything by storm. Caroline (Kat Dennings) is new in town and it's not that she loves to cause strife or turmoil, but she's smarter than her fellow classmates and she's looking to define herself just as any smart, lonely teenager would do. This is the year that everything happens.

With an industrial fire burning, a serial killer on the loose, and Caroline falling in love with her teacher Mr. A (Josh Lucas), the film sets up such a dark, mysterious, chilling atmosphere that you'll be drawn towards this town and these characters and then want to find a safe place to watch from.

Some of these characters will break your heart from the very beginning, Thurston (Reece Thompson) is the quintessential awkward teenager, alone and confused and might be falling in love, and his best friend is gone. His single mother (Andie MacDowell) is in constant fear of keeping her kids safe. The other characters should be able to handle themselves just fine. These are the best written characters I have ever seen in a high school film (and yes, I have seen "Election").

Mr. A is looking for motivation, Thurston is looking for love, and Caroline is just looking for something. This film takes those simple longings and puts them into something that looks and feels like a thriller. Originality is not to be feared. It should not be weird or off-putting; it should be celebrated. "Daydream Nation" is an edge-of-your-seat coming-of-age drama. These teenagers, plus a teacher or two, are just looking for love, acceptance, understanding and a purpose.

For the first time in a long time, I had no idea where a film was taking me. I had no idea what they were trying to tell me, and I had no idea what genre it was supposed to be. But the unrelenting atmosphere, the incredibly well written characters, and the smart dialogue make "Daydream Nation" something you'll want to experience. Another reviewer compared this to "Juno", I was thinking of comparing this to "Heathers", but these filmmakers have their fingers on the pulse of something entirely different. They might play with your heart strings, and your blood pressure, but by the end you will be put back together.

This is just one more in a long line of boring, filmed-in-BC, movies-with-a-message. Don't believe all the four- and five-star fake reviews from the cast and crew; it is formulaic garbage. Like everything else coming out of BC these days, it uses one has-been actor (Andie MacDowell) and a bunch of 25- and 28-year-olds, playing teenagers. There is not one believable scene in the entire movie, and - like every other "message movie" "stalker movie" or "murderer movie" out of BC - it is 99% talk talk talk.

Examples. Wanna get your actors to appear edgy? Portray them hotboxing in a stranger's dad's van. Wanna see what the term "phoning in your performance" really means? Watch Andie MacDowall, who very obviously did this one only for the money.

Typical CBC/Lifetime boring movie, made by too many actors and crew who spent too much time hotboxing and not enough time writing, directing, filming and acting. If you keep waiting for this movie to get better, trust me; it never does.

DAYDREAM NATION – CATCH IT ( B+ ) When was the last time you saw something and wished it never stops? Daydream Nation is one of those coming of age movies, which seems so real and beautiful that you want to watch it for longest you can. The director has nicely incorporated coming of age drama with serial killer on the loose and industrial fire burning. Daydream Nation takes us to three different kinds of lives. Firstly into a young city girl (Caroline) who moves to a small town with her dad but unable to adjust with local teenagers as they are not as smart or intellectual like her. Secondly, a lonely druggy boy (Thurston) who thinks, he never got anything right and always looks for something good to happen in his life. Thirdly, a 30+ male teacher (Barry), who seems perfect from outside but is all broken from inside as his life doesn't turn out the way he hoped for. The collision of these three unlikely lives in the backdrop of serial killer on the loose and industrial fire burning is "Daydream Nation". Kat Dennings gave an honest stealer performance, she made her character realist and believable. It's amazing to see her bringing humor, sorrow and bitchiness to the character with so much depth. Reece Thompson has always done something unusual and indie movies lovers defiantly know him from Rocket Science with Anna Kendrick. Reece Thompson defiantly surprised me yet again; he was naïve, emo & druggy who is falling in love for the first time. Josh Lucas is always the pretty man who gets the girls easily, even this time it happens but it also shows the other side of the perfect looking man. In supporting cast Andie MacDowell, Rachel Blanchard, Ted Whittall and especially Landon Liboiron were impressive. Overall a gripping coming of age movie, which will leave a good long lasting effect.

Let me start by saying I hadn't heard of this film until my girlfriend rented it (she's a film student at NYU). And judging by the cover and the title I had low expectations. So I was surprised to find a weird, funny, strangely beautiful movie wedged between the usual coming-of-age shenanigans. In a lot of ways it reminded me of my favorite writer, Haruki Murakami, in that the setting was banal but the plot (and I use that word loosely) was brimming with odd visual non sequiturs and tangents that were occasionally left dangling. There's a girl who has an affair with her teacher, a burning cloud of smoke, a killer in a white suit, a series of car crashes, kids who smoke everything in their kitchen to see what will get them stoned...the list goes on and on. But the thing is, it almost all works! It's almost like magic realism, albeit in a more grim, apocalyptic setting. So if you're someone who likes linear films, or films that follow all the rules, you'll probably not like this. But if you're like me and you get bored of seeing the same thing over and over, this feels pretty fresh. It definitely entertained me and stuck with me -- especially the ending. Oh yeah, and don't pay attention to the box. This movie has nothing in common with Juno or Donnie Darko (which is sci-fi, for Christ's sake). I have a feeling people latched on to that comment and let it color how they saw the story. So to sum up, I wouldn't recommend this movie to everyone, but I was moved by it and enjoyed its shaggy poetic qualities and erratic twists and turns.

10/10 Lee