‘Dream Scenario’ Movie Review [Philadelphia Film Festival 2023]: Nicolas Cage Has Never Been Funnier, Even As The Story Loses Focus
Photo from the Philadelphia Film Festival
From Joe Peltzer
At this point in his career, it’s probably a safe bet to expect that any Nicolas Cage-fronted film is going to be a bit off of the beaten path. Pig, Renfield, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Willy’s Wonderland, and Color Out of Space just to name a few. What is consistent across all of these projects is Cage’s full commitment to the character, his role of Paul Matthews in Kristoffer Borgli’s hilarious and bizarre Dream Scenario no different.
In the film, an unpublished college professor and family man (Cage as Paul Matthews) is thrust into the spotlight when he awkwardly begins appearing in a plethora of people’s dreams. The attention isn’t the worst thing for Matthews who revels in it until said dreams turn into violent nightmares, leading to a revolt from those who had propped him up. Dream Scenario shares some DNA with writer/director Borgli’s former work Sick of Me in that both explore the current state of fame, Sick of Me tackling the vanity of social media while his latest tracks the rise and fall of one’s fame amidst cancel culture. Dream Scenario is a bizarre film with ultimately unexplained dream-based phenomena at it’s core; it’s unclear if Borgli is inspired by anything in particular beyond general themes, which ultimately disappoints in the third act.
Cage gives a wild entertaining performance as the mundane Matthews, his nerdy exterior poorly disguising his insecure, rapacious emotional state that becomes clear through awkward laughing, movements, and excessive questioning. The first half of Dream Scenario allows Cage to shine with the odd premise serving a springboard for subtle comedic moments and satirical representations. Matthews is a man who clearly is going through a midlife crisis with unclear purpose, the sudden revelations providing a door to widespread attention that scratches a dormant itch. Each and every share from family, students, or complete strangers is sure to draw laughs; each are random dreams with Cage simply (and confusingly) passing through. Julianne Nicholson gives a solid performance as a grounding force in the form of Matthews’ wife Janet. As the fame increases, so does the tension between the two, opening up an emotional rift that serves as a subplot for the remainder of the film.
Dream Scenario loses itself a bit when it comes to the turn of the dreams from random coincidences that have made him household name to murderous, terrifying nightmare fuel. As Matthews unravels, his family, friends, and career hanging by a thread, so too does the film. What amounts to an SNL skit quickly shifts the film to a place where a broken Matthews is trying to pick up the pieces of his marriage as he traverses France to promote his new book with Michael Cera’s over-exuberant agency representative. Sure he is published, but it’s not what he wanted. Sue he has fame, but it’s not what he wanted. The “why” of it all, however, eludes us.
The rest of the film is rather unremarkable, a low-budget feel permeating Zosia Mackenzie’s production design and a meandering soundtrack from composer Owen Pallett. This is likely intentional, reinforcing the dull life of Cage’s character, but it does become old after a while. Dream Scenario is enjoyable enough, though, even as it loses focus and falls off the rails in its latter stages. An ambiguous ending left me unsatisfied and wanting more, nay any resolution. Cage can only do so much.
Rating: 3/5
Dream Scenario screened at the 32nd Philadelphia Film Festival and hits theaters on November 22nd, 2023.
