December 1, 2023
FILM: DREAM SCENARIO
DIRECTED BY: KRISTOFFER BORGLI
STARRING: NICHOLAS CAGE, JULIANNE NICHOLSON, MICHAEL CERA
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
When we first meet Paul Matthews, played by Nicholas Cage, it is within one of his daughter’s dreams. Soon other people also begin seeing Paul in their dreams. That’s the basic premise of the new film from writer/director Kristoffer Borgli, Dream Scenario. The plot then moves pretty breezily through a number of shifts and turns creating a curious and original story which I think viewers may be unpacking for quite some time.
The tone of this comedy/drama/science fiction/horror film (yes, it is a total hybrid of each of these genres) is not that far removed from others like it such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Her, and most notably, Being John Malkovich. We’re never supposed to think any of this can happen but the characters all treat it very seriously, for within their worlds it IS happening. Audiences just have to go with it or be frustrated. All of these films have something in common: they wrestle with scenarios that don’t presently exist but could conceivably happen if we look beyond the borders of our own realities and the possibilities of science.
Interestingly, Paul is an environmental biologist who teaches at a university in Massachusetts. He’s initially depicted as a bit of a dweeb whose students and daughters don’t really pay attention to. When he begins entering people’s dreams he becomes a sensation (The Who’s Tommy anyone?) He goes viral and everyone wants to be around him. A PR firm, headed up by a youngish dude in a baseball cap (Michael Cera), wants to represent him. Things get a little out of control. All Paul wants to do is write a book. But then, people begin having horrific nightmares featuring Paul and he goes from a major star to one that falls into a black hole.
As with the other films mentioned, there’s usually some deeper subtext being addressed with this type of story. One of these could be related to Paul’s fascination with zebras. At one point, he’s even seen reading a book about why zebras don’t have ulcers… Paul teaches his students to explore what it means to be a target, like a zebra with its stripes, and why it might have had some evolutionary purpose. Paul himself experiences both sides: he becomes a target that ultimately has a significant effect on people’s relationship to dreams.
Of course, the more identifiable concern here is the lure of fame and becoming a social media celebrity. Today, one can be at the center of the universe only to watch it all come crashing down and end up a victim of cancel culture. Paul doesn’t want any of this and, as he points out, he really doesn’t cause any of it to happen since the fame resulted from other people’s dreams, not anything Paul actually did. Yes, he may have wanted some attention but is that enough for him to be forced onto such a wild roller coaster ride?
So, we have to consider what is really being said here. As a culture, we determine who is up and who is down in our society. It’s all decided by us and what we deem is relevant rests inside our own heads. Similarly, we can also decide when someone’s time in the sun is up. Using major groupthink, we can spin someone, and their importance, and easily pull them down after raising them up. It’s all a matter of perspective and our own evolving thoughts about that person and what we decide is good or bad about them.
It’s not a coincidence that all of the attention Paul gets initially leads to advertisers wanting to use him to sell products. Selling anything is to get inside people’s heads and convince them these are things they need. We push products onto people. We make them believe something is good (or bad) for us. Even if the product or person hasn’t really done anything to warrant this attention, we can still spin it to make it seem like they’re important to the culture.
That is what is so intriguing about Dream Scenario. It’s about how our minds become controlled by the exterior world. Maybe we’re doing this more in the 21st Century than ever before. Maybe that is part of our evolution.
Dream Scenario is currently playing in theaters everywhere.
FILM: DREAM SCENARIO
DIRECTED BY: KRISTOFFER BORGLI
STARRING: NICHOLAS CAGE, JULIANNE NICHOLSON, MICHAEL CERA
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
When we first meet Paul Matthews, played by Nicholas Cage, it is within one of his daughter’s dreams. Soon other people also begin seeing Paul in their dreams. That’s the basic premise of the new film from writer/director Kristoffer Borgli, Dream Scenario. The plot then moves pretty breezily through a number of shifts and turns creating a curious and original story which I think viewers may be unpacking for quite some time.
The tone of this comedy/drama/science fiction/horror film (yes, it is a total hybrid of each of these genres) is not that far removed from others like it such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Her, and most notably, Being John Malkovich. We’re never supposed to think any of this can happen but the characters all treat it very seriously, for within their worlds it IS happening. Audiences just have to go with it or be frustrated. All of these films have something in common: they wrestle with scenarios that don’t presently exist but could conceivably happen if we look beyond the borders of our own realities and the possibilities of science.
Interestingly, Paul is an environmental biologist who teaches at a university in Massachusetts. He’s initially depicted as a bit of a dweeb whose students and daughters don’t really pay attention to. When he begins entering people’s dreams he becomes a sensation (The Who’s Tommy anyone?) He goes viral and everyone wants to be around him. A PR firm, headed up by a youngish dude in a baseball cap (Michael Cera), wants to represent him. Things get a little out of control. All Paul wants to do is write a book. But then, people begin having horrific nightmares featuring Paul and he goes from a major star to one that falls into a black hole.
As with the other films mentioned, there’s usually some deeper subtext being addressed with this type of story. One of these could be related to Paul’s fascination with zebras. At one point, he’s even seen reading a book about why zebras don’t have ulcers… Paul teaches his students to explore what it means to be a target, like a zebra with its stripes, and why it might have had some evolutionary purpose. Paul himself experiences both sides: he becomes a target that ultimately has a significant effect on people’s relationship to dreams.
Of course, the more identifiable concern here is the lure of fame and becoming a social media celebrity. Today, one can be at the center of the universe only to watch it all come crashing down and end up a victim of cancel culture. Paul doesn’t want any of this and, as he points out, he really doesn’t cause any of it to happen since the fame resulted from other people’s dreams, not anything Paul actually did. Yes, he may have wanted some attention but is that enough for him to be forced onto such a wild roller coaster ride?
So, we have to consider what is really being said here. As a culture, we determine who is up and who is down in our society. It’s all decided by us and what we deem is relevant rests inside our own heads. Similarly, we can also decide when someone’s time in the sun is up. Using major groupthink, we can spin someone, and their importance, and easily pull them down after raising them up. It’s all a matter of perspective and our own evolving thoughts about that person and what we decide is good or bad about them.
It’s not a coincidence that all of the attention Paul gets initially leads to advertisers wanting to use him to sell products. Selling anything is to get inside people’s heads and convince them these are things they need. We push products onto people. We make them believe something is good (or bad) for us. Even if the product or person hasn’t really done anything to warrant this attention, we can still spin it to make it seem like they’re important to the culture.
That is what is so intriguing about Dream Scenario. It’s about how our minds become controlled by the exterior world. Maybe we’re doing this more in the 21st Century than ever before. Maybe that is part of our evolution.
Dream Scenario is currently playing in theaters everywhere.