What Dreams May Come (PG-13)
Grade: A
Robin Williams, Anabella Sciorra, Cuba Gooding Jr.
If you were to take all the dreams and nightmares of every famed artist of the past and present, and splattered them onto celluloid, the result would probably be only half as beautiful as What Dreams May Come. It’s a visual masterpiece, a cult classic for a new generation, and a grand, expensive looking celebration of imagination and wit, all rolled into one.
This latest film in what I’m starting to refer to as the "hey, look at me" genre, succeeds beyond all expectations as a film going experience (not just excericse) of the first order. The story involves the tragic death of a doctor, played very nicely by Robin Williams, and his plight through the afterlife to join his family. Also especially good is Anabella Sciorra as the doc’s wife, who delivers a comeback performance that should place her on the Hollywood pedastool that she’s deserved for so long (see The Hand That Rocks The Cradle). Max Von Sydow and Cuba Gooding Jr also deliver potent supporting performances, even though they are overshadowed by the chemistry of Williams and Sciorra, and overwhelmed by the breathtaking visuals.
The biggest challenge in making a film like What Dreams May Come lies in the screenwriter, who has to take all the visuals and somehow try to restrict them to mere words. The dialogue in the script is often amusing, often thoughtful, but also crushingly poetic. One could spend years examining a given line and still not be able to figure it out. But, under the consideration that most of the rest of the film is brilliant, I’ll give the screenwriter the benefit of the doubt, and assume that the dialogue does have some kind of a meaning to help back up its story. And if there ever is a bad sample of dialogue, the actors make up for it in the conviction that they bring to every line.
What Dreams May Come succeeds grandly on three levels, but never all at the same time. The first, and most obvious level, is through its special effects and creativity, but they occasionally become one note and boring. Whenever that happens (which isn’t often) the actors take over strongly enough to ensure some Oscar nominations come next year (mostly Anabella Sciorra’s heartbreaking performance). But, there are times when both the visuals and the actors fail to generate spine tingling emotion. This is where the script takes over, wowing us with its poetic, symbolic, often brilliant dialogue.
I’m reminded of the vastly underrated and underseen Dark City, which opened earlier this year. Both films are staggering visual experiences that are empowered even more by the complexity and intensity of their characters. Of the two, I would prefer Dark City for its crazy, exhilerating plot, and because What Dreams May Come is taken by one major cliche- the depiction of hell as an evil place of fire and demons. Still, you do yourself no harm by checking out this visual masterpiece, and then stopping off at your local video store to rent Dark City. I could only imagine what dreams may come to you that night.