Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 42 minutes, Director – Kristoffer Borgli
Unremarkable college professor Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) starts appearing in everyone’s dreams, however these soon become nightmares and in real life he becomes a much-feared figure.
There’s a strong potential for a dark bite from Dream Scenario. It’s hinted at in the opening scene as college professor Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) quietly rakes leaves whilst ignoring his youngest daughter’s (Lily Bird) increasing pleas for help. She’s floating further and further into the sky, after random objects have just fallen from it around the pair. The next morning she’s detailing her dream to her parents at breakfast, her father trying to work out why he never does anything to help.
However, it’s not just his family’s dreams he does nothing in, it’s almost everyone’s; even strangers. Rapidly the unremarkable everyday man becomes something of a celebrity – he could advertise Sprite! – with his appearances being completely unexplained. As TV interviews and brand opportunities roll in, although never quite reaching his hopes of finding a publisher for his biology book, Paul remains very much the same – ringing thoughts that he could very well have been one of your own teachers. Cage’s performance is up there with his best as you truly buy into the idea that despite the circumstances he is a purely normal person. It makes for a more investing character as the narrative unfolds and dreams turn into nightmares with the figure of Paul starting to attack.
As the comparisons to Freddy Krueger arise Paul becomes feared by strangers and even those who know him well, his students in particular are terrified of him. At this point the occasional humours around the central character’s light awkwardness dims down as a more dramatic edge comes into play. It’s here in particular that the film seems to want to play with something darker but never quite steps into the tonal shift. Dancing somewhere near the edge we see threats on Paul’s life, and jokes about cancel culture, as people can’t tell the difference between him from the attacker in their dreams. There’s even potential for some proper horror tones instead of suggestions and riffs, yet, once again, writer-director Kristoffer Borgli feels trepidations to go into them.
It all leads to a second half, and largely third act, which tries to pull things together, and has some good ideas, but never quite hits the marks it seems to want to. You can see the ideas, and even where they could be lifted up, yet the tones never quite seem to come into effect as much as they could do. If they were to there might be a more effective, and eventually engaging, set of events.
Cage remains great and provides plenty to enjoy and convince within the film and its world, but the overall content that he’s working with doesn’t quite have the same push. While not quite delving into a nightmare situation as becomes the case for Paul’s life and everyone else’s dreams things take a turn which means that while there’s still engagement there’s not always a complete effect – like a dream you can’t remember all the details of the next morning.
Nicolas Cage is brilliant with his everyman energy throughout Dream Scenario, bringing further interest in the good ideas which help construct the basis. However, as things develop the film feels uncertain of how much to bring out new tones and in turn loses effect.
Just A Little Bit Random 