PicoBlog

It could have been a contender if it had an actual point.

Dozens of movies come and go, pulling that same reaction. Inventive plots with a big name pilot pushing the trippy ideas through the paces until the concept hits a brick wall of “what’s next?” that it can’t get around.

Thats what happens with Dream Scenario, the first film from writer/director Kristoffer Borgli, a concept that spins its top for around 75 minutes before losing its frame of mind. Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) is a lonely college professor with the cookie cutter life setup: a job that pays the bills, an always curious wife, two girls, and a nice house.

But Matthews (Nicolas Cage) sings that familiar “I should have been a contender” chant, one of those minds who thinks a former colleague stole his book idea. Even the shyest person in the world wants to talk your head off about something they’re passionate about.

It’s when Paul starts showing up in the dreams of his students-he’s mostly hapless to whatever action is taking place in their subconscious-that the attention he’s been seeking comes rushing at his door like a tidal wave. When everybody else, like strangers all across the world, start dreaming about Paul, the once fascinating trend settles succinctly into a bizarre pattern that begins melting down walls in his life.

The fame goes to his head like caffeine enters our blood stream, instantly putting a spotlight on his home life; the wife gets jealous and the teenage daughters become weirded out by it all.

I was weirded out by what took place next. The idea of the collective subconscious of everybody in the world being dominated by an average white male isn’t a bad spot to start a movie. It just never seems to carry a real point, and bizarre and quirky quickly fades into odd and off putting during the uneven third act. Borgli’s film can’t decide if it wants to be a drama about the power of dreams, or a wry midlife crisis seminar.

Cage gives it everything he’s got, which is no surprise. Paul is right up his alley, blending his bogged down dad from The Weather Man and the overworked mind of Adaptation and the OCD-stricken thief from Matchstick Men. He pulls a few tricks out of his head, but is stuck in a role that never expands its horizons.

The lesson learned by our unlikely protagonist are familiar and dull, deadening the intrigue that built up in the first hour plus. Borgli’s direction is more impressive than his screenplay, which becomes a ball of knots after the Matthews family finds every camera lens and attention span in the world looking at their life.

All the little idiosyncrasies burn under a big enough microscope. It’s not interesting enough here for me to cast a vote in its favor.

I really like Cage, and Julianne Nicholson as his wife, but the end result was flat.

The Film Buffa rating: C+

ncG1vNJzZmickZ65urDOrJyonpKqs6etjaysm6uklrCsesKopGioX5m%2Fpq3MZqqcnZ6Wv6q7jKGYrGWZo8GmvsSsq6Kml2K2pbHArA%3D%3D