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Dream
Scenario (2023)
 
Review
Kristoffer Borgli's follow up to his
delightfully absurd
Sick of Myself sees him moving
his craft across the Atlantic and teaming up with Nicolas Cage, who
plays a bald, socially awkward biology professor somewhere on the
East Coast of America. He leads a perfectly dull family life with
wife and two daughters when his otherwise unremarkable presence
starts popping up in various people's dreams, which soon turns his
life upside down. Fans of Sick of Myself will recognize
Borgli's peculiarly askew look at modern society, but Dream
Scenario is in many ways richer and more wide-ranging than its
predecessor. In the early parts of the film, Borgli approximates
Woody Allen in both his characterizations and his observations of
mundane aspects of life. Cage and his wife (played by Julianne
Nicholson) are made to look as unflattering and unglamorous as
you've ever seen Hollywood actors, arguably because Borgli wants to
accentuate their averageness and lay the basis for the absurdities
that soon will follow. Because when Dream Scenario starts
dabbling with dreams and their possible consequences, the film
becomes simultaneously funnier and probably more divisive. Cage's
character becomes embarrassingly beguiled by his sudden fame, leading
to a number of situations ranging from hilarious to creepy and
ultimately chilling, and Borgli demonstrates his skill as a
filmmaker by guiding his picture from one mood to another with
impressive fluidity. If you by the end feel somewhat exhausted and
that you're left with no redemption, it's because Dream Scenario
is a rather savvy allegory for cancel culture at its most
devastating. And thanks to Cage's wonderfully unpretentious
performance, there is some sentiment to the whole spectacle as well.
Also with Michael Cera as a zealous PR executive, and Dylan Gelula
in a brilliant turn as a young woman turned on by the dream version
of Cage.
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