Director: Kristoffer Borgli
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Lily Bird, Julianne Nicholson, Jessica Clement, Star Slade, David Klein, Kaleb Horn, Liz Adjei, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, Dylan Baker
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 3.5 stars
With a striking blend of fantasy, humour, violence, and cultural satire, Norwegian writer-director Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario is an oddly enthralling psychological comedy.
The twisted story is unbelievably novel. The film keeps you hooked till the end with its extremely whacky and improbable premise, packed with relatable home truths.
Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage), a dreary biology professor who struggles to keep his students awake during his lectures, becomes an overnight celebrity for the most unlikely reasons: He begins appearing in the dreams of everyone around him. In these dreams- he is just there, walking by or passively hanging around in the background in random people’s dreams. How this bizarre phenomenon disrupts his life, going from odd to enchanting to tragic, forms the crux of the tale.
The scenes veer from dreamscapes to resembling a satire on the contemporary ‘cancel culture’ phenomenon. Cancel Culture is the senseless social media mob rule, where a society publicly boycotts a person or an organisation. Every scenario gives a distorted view of Paul, who is then progressively ostracised from his community. Paul’s inability to reverse these perceptions underlines a feeling of middle-aged powerlessness where he cannot influence the world, in positive ways.
While the dream aspect- is never rationalised, in the narrative, it adds a layer of depth to the themes. The narrative swings between surrealism and absurdity and displays a sardonic gaze at the uses and customs of the digital age, the same one that elevates and destroys people in the blink of an eye. Each scene is pitch-perfect. The tonal shifts are effectively balanced, moving from being- quietly humourous to disturbing and back again.
Nicolas Cage, in a dream role, leans towards a low-key performance, giving his Paul an imprint of a guy overcome by circumstances, but to whom nothing seems to surprise him too much. Cage underplays his mania and lets everything around him be peculiar and outlandish. Paul is the straight man in this oddball universe. The character is brilliantly etched, and Cage humanizes it perfectly with his eccentric look.
Julianne Nicholson as Paul’s Wife, Janet Matthews, is sweet and understated. Unfortunately, she is underutilized in the film.
Michael Cera as Trent, the head of the marketing, and Dylan Gelula as the marketing assistant Molly, along with Lilly Bird and Jessica Clement as Paul’s teenage daughters, are all immensely natural. They all leave their mark during their moments of on-screen glory.
What also makes the film shine is the unassuming production values. Costume designer Natalie Bronfman’s unfussy clothes and Cage’s make-up team make the entire film appear realistic.
Overall, this unique film will stay in your mind space, making you chuckle or squirm in discomfort, depending on the scene you visualise much after you leave the theatres.
