Dream Scenario

''Dream Scenario'' is a 2023 American satirical comedy-drama film written, directed and edited by Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli. It is produced by Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen under their Square Peg banner, alongside Nicolas Cage, Jacob Jaffke, and Tyler Campellone. It stars Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, and Dylan Baker. Cage plays Paul Matthews, a mild-mannered evolutionary biology professor who begins appearing in the dreams of others.

''Dream Scenario'' premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2023, and began a limited theatrical release by A24 on November 10, 2023, before expanding on November 22. It received positive reviews from critics and was nominated for awards including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Cage.

Plot

Sophie, a teenage girl, has a dream in which a man is raking leaves by a swimming pool. As Sophie starts floating up to the sky, she cries for help from this man whom she calls Dad. Her father, Paul Matthews, is a professor of evolutionary biology at a local university.

When Paul learns a former colleague is writing an article on a topic he had discussed with her many years earlier, he seeks to confront her but instead begs her for some recognition. Paul's journalist ex-girlfriend, Claire, spots him with his wife, Janet, and tells him he appears in her dreams. With his permission, she writes an article about the experience. Soon, hundreds of strangers come forward to recognize Paul from their dreams. While Paul enjoys the media coverage this brings, he is frustrated by his depiction in the dreams as passive and uninteresting. In impromptu interviews with some of his students, Paul learns that in the dreams, oftentimes calamity occurs or the dreamers ask for help, but Paul is passive or emotionless and does not intervene.

Paul's wife, Janet, asks why he does not appear in her dreams. She describes her fantasy: Paul rescues her while wearing the oversized suit worn by David Byrne in the 1984 concert film ''Stop Making Sense''. Later that evening, a mentally ill man who has seen Paul in his dreams breaks into their house with a knife, raising concerns about the risks of his fame.

Paul meets with a public relations firm, hoping to get a book deal, but they attempt to convince him to advertise Sprite on social media. After a beautiful young assistant at the firm, Molly, tells him about her erotic dreams about him, he attempts to reenact them for her but suffers premature ejaculation and leaves, humiliated.

Paul is enraged to learn that the former colleague has published a high-profile paper on the subject he was thinking of writing his book about. His presence in people's dreams becomes violent and sadistic, and he becomes vilified. He is placed on leave after students refuse to attend his classes. Bystanders begin to notice Paul in public and are bothered by his presence, resulting in a brawl in a diner. After Janet's career is affected, she asks Paul to issue a public apology, but he angrily refuses.

After Paul has a nightmare in which he is hunted and killed by a version of himself wielding a crossbow, he releases a self-pitying apology video. Humiliated, Janet throws him out of the house. Paul forces his way into his daughter's school play, but accidentally injures a teacher in the process and is restrained. He becomes further vilified.

Sometime later, the dreams have stopped. Paul's dream experience led to the discovery of a shared subconsciousness, and dreams have become an advertising space through the use of technology. Janet is separated from Paul and is dating a co-worker. Paul travels to France for a book tour to promote his book ''Dream Scenario''. He learns it has been retitled ' ("I Am Your Nightmare") without his consent, that the book is pitifully thin in the translated volume, and that his signing event has been moved to the dingy basement of the bookstore. Nevertheless, fans line up for his signed copies. Paul uses dream-travel technology to attempt to enter one of Janet's dreams and rescue her while wearing the Byrne suit. As he floats away, much like how Sophie did in the very first dream, Paul declares that he wishes the dream were reality.

Cast

Production

A24 announced the film in August 2022, with Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Kate Berlant, Dylan Baker and Dylan Gelula to be included in the cast.

Principal photography commenced in Toronto in October 2022 and wrapped that November.

The movie was shot on analogue 16 mm (Super 16) film with the Arriflex 416 Plus camera before being transferred to a 4k digital intermediate in postproduction.IMDb: Dream Scenario-Technical Specifications
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Release

''Dream Scenario'' premiered as the opening film in the Platform Prize on September 9, 2023. A24 distributed it in the United States with a limited release on November 10, 2023, followed by an expanded release on November 22. Distribution in Canada, New Zealand and Australia was handled by VVS Films.

Reception

Kyle Smith of ''The Wall Street Journal'' called the film "a bold statement that is bound to make a name" for Borgli. Peter Bradshaw, in his review of the film in ''The Guardian'', called it "very enjoyable" and a "smart film about the uncanny experience of fame." Peter Debruge of ''Variety'' noted that "Borgli shoots the dreams no different from the waking moments, creating a kind of mind game for audiences, who must determine at any given moment whether the scene in question is real or imagined."

Jeannette Catsoulis of ''The New York Times'' wrote that the film is "often funny and frequently surreal" but said that Borgli had "more ideas than space to execute them," leading to a third act that feels "overloaded and indecisive of where it wants to land." Catsoulis also wrote that the erotic scene between Paul and Molly "could make you want to put your eyes out."

Ann Hornaday of ''The Washington Post'' wrote that the film was a “clever, adroitly executed taxonomy of contemporary fame.” Yet, Hornaday followed up with some criticism of the film's screenwriting. “The more far-out "Dream Scenario" gets, the more viewers might wish that Borgli would simply keep his focus on the warp and woof of the Matthewses' marriage."

Filmmakers Joe Dante, Chloe Domont, Chad Hartigan, Matt Johnson and Karyn Kusama all cited ''Dream Scenario'' as among their favorite films of 2023.

Accolades

References

External links

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2020s American films
2020s English-language films
2023 black comedy films
2023 comedy horror films
2023 fantasy films
2023 independent films
2023 films
A24 (company) films
Saturn Films films
American black comedy films
American comedy horror films
American fantasy films
American independent films
Films about dreams
Films about nightmares
Films about educators
Films shot in Toronto
Films shot in 16 mm film
Psychological comedy films
Films directed by Kristoffer Borgli
Films produced by Nicolas Cage
English-language black comedy films
English-language comedy horror films
English-language fantasy films
English-language independent films