Grade: B
I’ve now officially realized that Nicolas Cage is best when he plays a tortured, awkward, struggling, confused loser, or at least one of the above. Bringing Out the Dead, Adaptation, The Weather Man, and Pig come to mind. And of course, in 1996, he won an Oscar for this type of role. Dream Scenario is a refreshing return to form for him, and his best performance since Pig. That was only two years ago, but it’s a significant amount in Cage time, as that was seven movies ago for him.
Bearded, bespectacled, bald-headed, and mild-mannered, he plays Paul Matthews – a college professor who teaches evolutionary biology, and has a pipe dream about publishing a book about ants. Dream Scenario begins with his daughter observing that he keeps showing up in her dreams. He doesn’t do anything in the dreams; he pretty much just strolls on by in a smiley, passive cameo.
Events take a turn for the weird when hundreds of people – which leads to at least thousands – come forward with the same account. They might not have seen Paul for a long time, if they’ve ever met him at all, but he is appearing in dreams across the country. He’s harmless in them, but persistently and consistently there. Eventually, he gets increasingly more violent and even sexual in these dreams, and before long, millions of people from all over are traumatized and scared of this man who has never done anything to them in real life.
Most of the movie is a wonderfully fun and twisted exploration of the baggage that comes with instant fame. I also detected a through line about how reality stars, contest winners, or people who otherwise suddenly go viral use this opportunity to tack on their lifelong ambition. In Dream Scenario, it’s like “Ok, I’m suddenly showing up in everyone’s dreams, and you want me to do interviews and some Sprite commercials? Cool. But what I REALLY want to do is come out with a book about ants.” Cage has a slump in his posture, a soft nasal voice, and brings all the right notes to this performance. Tim Meadows, Dylan Baker, Michael Cera, and especially Dylan Gelula are effective in supporting roles.
I loved the movie until the last quarter. By the end, it veers off into unclearness. Even the art house feel of it (the A24ness, if you will) wears thin. I don’t know what needed to happen, but something more in line with the excellent first 75% of the movie. By the time we arrive at the conclusion, I’m not sure what we are supposed to take away from Dream Scenario, other than dreams are cool, man.
Grade: B
Film Reviews by Mark 
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