User reviews

At its core this is a story about a very lonely person, one that we all may know, and how she fell through the cracks of life. One character sums it up perfectly: "It's strange really, it's like she never really existed but was just a figment of our imagination. She was a story. Someone that we all just made up; partly because we just let someone disappeared and die. Someone that we all thought we cared about." A few people have mentioned that this documentary is weak because Joyce, and her story, are mundane and not remarkable." They're absolutely correct, but I see this as a strength for the documentary. Joyce, and her "friends", are not remarkable in any way. Instead, they are normal people who lived their life around someone that was almost a ghost.

It's remarkable to watch these people recite, and discover, how little they knew this woman that they considered a friend. And yet these friends, or interviewees, are the best window into Joyce's life. As the title of the film suggests it really is like Joyce only existed in a dream. Her past and future never existed and she was only a shell of a person. I was reminded strongly of the movie Inception while thinking about Joyce. Not to ruin Inception for anyone, but there's a conversation where one character says to another "I can't imagine you with all your complexity, all your perfection and imperfection. You're just a shade..." That's what Joyce was, only a shade of a real person.

If there's a lesson to take from this movie it's that we need to do a better job of keeping in contact with our friends. I don't know what happened in Joyce's life that left her to die alone, but no one should have that fate.

Newspaper headlines are flashed on screen detailing the strange case of a 38 year old woman found dead in her apartment after three years. Joyce Carol Vincent died a lonesome death, without drawing notice. A pathologist could not determine the cause of death due to its decomposition. Dental records were used for identification. The people who discovered her said that the television was on and Christmas presents were partially wrapped. A reenactment shows a team in hazmat suits decontaminating the flat. A picture of a pretty black woman is shown while interviews with friends and co-workers begin.She is described as well spoken and easy going. Her mother wast Indian and father a black Grenadian carpenter and womanizer. Her mother died when she was eleven and she told those around her that her father had also passed away. Later on it is discovered that he passed away a year after her.

Recordings are played from a studio session when Joyce was aspiring to be a professional singer. A boyfriend, Martin, speaks well of her with fond memories. He is white and overweight and was shocked that such a good looking woman would date him. Another boyfriend remembers living with her and the night she tells him how she met Nelson Mandela. They eventually drift apart and she lives a nomadic lifestyle, rooming with different men and possibly being physically abused by one. A beautiful actress(Zawe Ashton) portrays Joyce in the film and she is very good.

Ironically, the most compelling figure of the story turns out to be Martin, who with introspection, regrets the choices he made because he never stops thinking about Joyce, who he loved very much.

Dreams of A Life is a powerful and moving statement on how little we really know about each other and the inner demons within all of us.

About a decade ago I worked in the offices of a local council's Environmental Health department and, among the jobs that fell into this department was that of dealing with the issue of people who had been found dead and didn't have anyone to make the arrangements. It didn't happen too often but occasionally the office would be used as a temporary store for loads of books, VHS tapes or other hoarded possessions of people who had died alone and seemed to have nobody. I never attended the funerals of these people but colleagues who did the arrangements generally reported a few friends or family but that was all. Despite never knowing these people, I had made the decision that these were sad lonely people who lived alone forever, knew nobody and had always been that way.

In a way, when we enter this film and hear about Joyce, this is the same impression it is very easy to have; she died alone and lay undiscovered for three years Three years with nobody anywhere really making an effort to find out why they hadn't seen her for a while. The lack of information in the paper about this person is what led Morley to make this documentary and she does unearth a lot and a great deal of it shows that Joyce was not some introverted hermit but in some ways just the opposite. It was clear from the detail that she did carry a great sadness within her, but at the same time she was active socially, had famous connections in the music industry and was a very attractive woman. The film builds this picture well – even surprising her friends with some details, but it never really gets to a point or to answers and this is the main problem with the film.

On the whole it does engage by virtue of how saddening it is and in the way it forces the viewer to ask questions of (and about) ones self, but this isn't quite enough to make the film fill 90 minutes. The details of Joyce's life only increased the questions but the film doesn't lay blame anywhere and doesn't investigate how anyone can go unnoticed for three years. This side of things isn't as good and it is a real shame as it could have had more of an impact. The subject itself is fascinating though and the mix of interviews and dramatized moments does work pretty well – with some interesting characters in her life and some great moments acted out by Ashton. The direction and look of the film is mostly good – it is very lively and good looking, not unlike the Joyce we see portrayed as well.

Dreams of a Life is a depressing and engaging film thanks to the subject matter and the way it is delivered, but it doesn't go far enough. It doesn't have an overall point in particular and it leaves as many questions as it answers; the viewer is left with a sense of sadness which is worthy but not a real understanding of anything beyond this one person. I liked it for what it did well, but the gaps are disappointing.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Joyce Vincent's skeleton was found in her London bedsit three years after she died, surrounded by wrapped Christmas presents and with the TV still on in the background. Despite once having a fairly active social life, she clearly masked deep rooted insecurities to those around her, some of whom provide talking head perspectives here. These may have driven her to make some bad decisions and mix with the wrong people, drifting apart from those who really cared about her. Film maker Carol Morley attempts to piece together the events leading up to her death, trying to create a picture of who this woman was and how she came to meet such a lonely, desperate end.

It's testament to what a crazy, twenty four hour news world we live in that Joyce Vincent's story, as mind blowing and heart breaking as it is, is the type of thing you could read about in some rag like The Sun and then just put to the back of your mind faster than Jack Robinson. But however much you think about it, the idea of a woman lying dead in her home for three years with not a single friend or family member coming round to check on her or noticing she was gone will always make you wonder what kind of world we're living in, especially with so much more to hand than in years gone by.

As off putting as the thought of it is, the tone of the film should really be as dark and down beat as it can be, since it's such a desperately sad, shaming true life tale, but of course this would make it inaccessible to some, and it works more that Morley balances her work with more soulful, melancholy interludes in between the more dour, desperate moments. We learn of a confident, bubbly woman who could be the life and soul of any party, but who clearly carried deep, dark insecurities around with her and who failed to display much of a personality of her own, preferring to latch on to the close friends and people she had around her.

With the limited amount of material she has to work with, new comer Zawe Ashton brings Joyce to life in as colourful and under stated a way as she can, always at her best in alone, private moments when her passion and talent as a singer really comes to life, only for nothing to come of this. As Robert De Niro once stated in a film of his, there's nothing sadder than wasted talent and while these are very wise words, the film shows how a vulnerable, insecure personality can inadvertently make this so.

Morley has crafted a haunting, desperately sad tale that shows even in the 21st century we still live in more of an atomised, apart society than we'd care to admit and that maybe we don't care about each other as much as we ought to. ***

I remember learning about the discovery of Joyce Vincent's body a few years ago and thinking what a sad and disturbing news story it was, almost beggaring belief in present day civilised society. This superbly and sensitively crafted drama documentary from Carol Morley answers a mere handful of the many questions which inevitably followed while inevitably producing a myriad of others.

It is a salutary reminder that life is both precious and mysterious, things are often not what they seem and how we all think we know our friends but in reality our comprehension is limited to what we are actually permitted to see and understand.

The most refreshing and at the same time most disturbing impression given is that Joyce's friends appear to be genuine, caring people but despite this, she still slipped through the emotional and physical net which binds humanity together.

The power of this film makes the loss almost as tangible to the audience as it must have felt to Martin. It reminds us that although time is often regarded as a great unhurried and invisible healer, it can also be corrosively destructive.

Plenty to contemplate here...

So wrote Charles Bukowski, not knowing his words would end up selling Levis. That's another story. This story, Dreams of a Life, is a compelling and brilliant documentary. The performances are superb,particularly from Zawe Ashton and Alix Luka-Cain. The film stayed with me a long time after the curtains closed. All of the characters are so interesting that the film does give proof to the credo, 'you couldn't make it up'. Why would you need to with a story as powerful and bizarre and thought-provoking as this? Who are we? What are we? How do we come to be and equally, how to we come to be remembered. What is memory? What is re-memory? As well as these deep questions about the self the film also seeks to ask (without bitterness or blame) - how can this happen? What does it say about society that people can fall through the cracks and disappear? I highly recommend Dreams of a Life, it is a labour of love and this shows in the attention to detail it gives to the people and events that come together to tell this story with such power and such care.

Carol Morley has come up with a really interesting idea.

She's written and directed a documentary about the mysterious death of a beautiful West Indian 39 year old girl (Joyce Vincent) who was a major hit with the lads "People said she was as good looking as Whitney Houston; I thought she was more attractive than that." and had hundreds of friends and admirers and a huge family to boot; four sisters.

The film is not so much about how she died but the fact that it took three years for her body to be discovered. In her flat. Watching her TV which was still on.

No Electricity company shut her utilities off; the council never chased the rent; no one complained about the smell; none of her friends visited; none of doting ex's; none of her family. Nobody.

Carol Morley builds a documentary mixing dramatised re-enactments of her life and "Touching the Void" type real life storytelling to get closer to the truth than the police ever did.

It's a fascinating idea and in places nicely shot with some interesting music (although hardly a career high for ex-Magazine bassist Barry Adamson).

Why then is it so unengaging emotionally? Why do we not really care about poor Joyce Vincent? I think because the story is dragged 30 – 40 minutes past is tell by date. It's just far too long.

It's a shame because I really wanted to like it and applaud almost everything about it; including the fact that it was funded (in part by the Irish Film Board!?) and the incredible detective work that Carol Morley did to unearth so many of the people in Joyce Vincent's life when the police found not one of them.

In the end, it just makes the police look ridiculous.

And poor old Martin, the bachelor who lost the love of his life.

Bless him.

I can't remember which poet said it now, but when questioned on why we create art he responded, "to make our living and dying important again, and the living and dying of others." By this measure, Dreams of a Life is an artistic triumph; it does exactly that. If Carol Morley had not re-invented herself as a private detective who would know about Joyce Vincent's story now? The tenacity and iron will it must have taken to get this project off the ground is evident in the care with which this film has been made. Not only in terms of what it draws out of the people who knew Joyce, but also in the skilled reconstructions and outstanding performances from the cast.

The film is fresh and offers something new to the genre with its blurring of documentary and drama. There are moments in the film to make your heart break but as much as anything the film is a celebration and a remembrance of a life lived.

If you are the type of person who is interested in peoples lives this is your film to watch, of course this way is not everyone is but don't let bad reviews put you off.My eyes never left the screen, I found it immensely interesting and quite sad. I feel it is really important for this film to have been made, simply for the fact that because of this film she did not disappear and even though she died alone she didn't live her life in vain. My feeling after watching the film was that in a sense we could all gain perspective - That is how vivid all of our lives are if only we can see it... Joyce may have never known how much people cared but the fact is they had, and what we must remember is there is always someone willing to help, there is always a chance. It seems she had many, for example seeing her old housemate randomly on the street - it could have been a chance to get help - This film is simply a quest to bring back some dignity and life for someone that could have just disappeared off the face of the earth. Now she is in so many peoples memories and I find that quite a noble quest.

DREAMS OF A LIFE is a feature length 2011 docu-drama by filmmaker Carol Morley that tells the true story of Joyce Carol Vincent, a woman who died in her flat in London around 2003 and wasn't found until more than three years later. The story itself is a great one, one of the most tragic tales you could imagine and a true reflection on the careless nature of modern society, but DREAMS OF A LIFE drops the ball along the way.

Morley messes up by focusing way too much on recreating Vincent's brief life as a celebration instead of really getting to the heart of the manner of her death. After all, it's the unusual circumstances surrounding the death that makes this such a good story, but we learn next to nothing about it. Just how could somebody die in the heart of a heaving metropolis, with the TV on no less, and nobody realise for three years?

Instead, there are endless bite-sized interviews with friends who knew here, and a good half an hour of excruciating singing as Morley explores Vincent's passion for music. All of this needed to be jettisoned and replaced with an investigative journalist doing a voice-over and exploring the mysteries that remain unsolved to date.

The news of Joyce Vincent's body discovered in a flat in 2006, hit the British waves causing a shock to the system. Joyce died in her apartment just before Christmas 2003, packing presents and watching television, for three years no one noticed her disappearance, no one enquired about her, not even the landlord reacted to the constantly playing TV or the unpaid bills. However terrifying the vision was, it was just a story, as noted by her former friends, lovers and acquaintances that initially failed to connect the death with the Joyce they knew.

The documentary by Carol Morey uncovers the person behind the story and attempts to explain not only the obvious shocking question: How can someone dissolve unnoticed from society? Instead it also fleshes out Joyce Vincent as a person, a human being with dreams and achievements. Probably most surprisingly Joyce Vincent turns out to be somewhat of an extrovert, a beautiful well-versed person of mixed race, who back in the days was loved and adored by many, even having at least two meaningful relationships. Her downfall turns out to be even more shocking given she was once heavily connected with the London musical circles and later on had a well-paid job in the financial sector. Despite these episodes of success, she ultimately spirals into oblivion - detached from her family and friends.

Some may feel unsatisfied at how many questions regarding Joyce Vincent remain unearthed, as there is a large blank period just prior to her death. Not much is known as to why she dropped out of society or why she left her well-paid accountancy post to work as a cleaner. No one knows for whom the presents were being prepared. Not much is said about the abusive Polish boyfriend. But I feel that all these dark parts of Joyce Vincent, mysterious as they must be, would only distract from what is otherwise a sombre eulogy to her life, painting a picture of someone worth remembering, despite her ultimate failure. The sensitive approach with which Carol Morley approaches her story is remarkable, distinctly painting a picture of Joyce, molding her as a person and bringing her something she would have so hoped for: remembrance.

The movie lingers in your memory, invoking questions about the society you live in, where despite being surrounded by warm and caring individuals (as much of Vincent's friends seem to be), she managed to fall through the social net of emotional co-dependence, which binds us all together. The story leaves us contemplating the frailty of our lives and the lucid relevance of who we are. On a personal note also left me all gooey and hugging my significant other - love and acceptance is all we need...

After reading the description of this film I looked forward to a well delivered film about the life and times of a woman who was eventually found dead in her apartment.

Yes, the premise of finding out who she was and the life she had lived seemed like it would have provided an interesting journey for the viewers. Adding to the fact that not a single person had shown interest in her life when it ended and then not being found until 3 years later as a skeleton on a couch, the TV still running - made this seem like it may be interesting.

However, I am disappointed to say that this film just doesn't have what a decent documentary needs. It contains barely any real evidence of the woman's life, and she is only seen in a few photographs at one point in the film.

The story relies on some of her old acquaintances, who most obviously were not close friends with her. We are made to sit through endless assumptions and vague memories shot with a typical interview type backdrop throughout the entire film. Some of them just seem to just be there to get some screen time of their own and the film makers have been desperate enough to use basically anyone with any kind of connection to the victim.

To make this 'documentary' a complete failure is the reliance on dramatization. It's a terrible attempt at story telling, the acting is poor and to tread even more dirt into this attempt at documentary making the film makers have recreated the woman's apartment, recreated the police crew packing up the apartment in full chemical suits.

They also try to create a 'What if' scenarios by including a 'What if she was murdered?' theme to try and add more to it.

The movie feels empty and poorly conceived. There is just not enough real footage and real evidence to even hold together 30 minutes let alone 1.5 hours.

If you like your documentaries filled with acted dramatization, poor acting, film sets and montages created because they have no real footage of the events and a group of interviewees that were never close enough to the woman to help her in her times of need.

Then this is your kind of movie.

where do i start? this movie is powerful,uncomfortable,sad and true to life. I felt i was watching my life unfold on the screen....really odd experience. It touch me deeply..love the way its been filmed,i didn't felt like they exploited her short life, they just gave Joyce the farewell she somehow deserved... i must confess i will have love to know all the blank of her life. i would like to know why the family did not get involve directly with the making of the film? also why we don't get to know the full reason she went into a refuge for abuse women? did she get some kind of counselling? who was the person who interview her at the refuge? Surely,to get the bedsit she must have told someone what happens. you don't get those kind of accommodation if you are not in a really bad situation. i have million of questions and none of them will be answered Thats the cleverness of this movie....because you still left wondering Why?

Never have i seen a documentary that gripped me so hard, so pure and sad..

i will never understand what really happened, but one thing is for sure..the life of a beautiful young lady was lost..leaving only questions and pain

my heart goes out to Martin...he will never recover from this

watch it, talk about this...and never ever let this happen again

OK, the subject matter is awful. Woman is so far gone from society that even her "friends" don't look for her when she dies and sits in her apartment for 3 years. The social commentary alone is hard and we should really look at ourselves.

But, the movie itself is awful. The way it was filmed was just bad. I grew tired of listening to her so-called "friends" talk about how great she was. Yeah, that's why you went looking for her when you didn't hear from her for 3 years. Hope I never have friends like that. The film made it sound like this woman's family had nothing to do with her. When, in reality, they hired a PI to find her AND were at the inquest into her death. More than her "friends" did. The majority of the film focused on the actress playing Joyce and speculating on what she did. They should have included more of the medical examiner's report, forensics, the friends and why they let her down, and her family. Instead, I was left with more questions. I got more answers from a quick Google search. Just look up the story and read about it instead.