In Dreams

I almost walked out several times. The story is very convoluted, and makes no sense. And although I like Annette Bening, far too much emphasis is placed on her character - I mean do we really want to spend half the movie watching her overact because the script is so weak? Robert Downey Jr. is great as usual, although I have to agree with a previous reviewer - he did look like he was on drugs the entire time...;) Unfortunately, it looks like the Director was on drugs too - parts of the movie are outstanding, and wonderful to watch, but mostly it drags and never really comes together as a whole - worth renting on video, but not seeing in the theater.

I've liked pretty much all of Annette Bening's movies, although I did think that Neil Jordan's "In Dreams" should have come out as a little bit more given what all seems to have gone into it. As it is, I've seen lots of movies that portray people's dreams being more than just dreams and possibly showing something evil. This one isn't terrible, but I've seen this sort of thing so many times that there's nothing really new here. The movie's main strength is it's dreary, nearly Gothic setting. So, it's worth seeing maybe once. The movie just might give you a different impression of Annette Bening, plus co-stars Aidan Quinn and Robert Downey Jr. So just remember what Roy Orbison sang...

The visuals in the film are really quite beautiful, nothing that hasn't been mentioned before. I love the cinematography in this film. I give it a 7, but I really think it could have been better. But some of the hospital scenes really drag on, and there is a little too much melodrama for me to handle. And the apple scene is rather hokey. Some of the dialogue is laughable as well. If the editor could have just "trimmed the fat" off of some of the unnecessary scenes, this movie would be pretty darn good. I also feel the inciting incident comes a little late. I mean we get it, she's nuts and she has crazy dreams. On the contrary, by developing the characters so well, you get more of an emotional impact for later in the film when she finds out about her daughter's death, and the mother reuniting with her daughter at the end.

The first hour or so of this movie is great. It is interesting, good-viewing and imaginative. It's a pity that after the hour mark the film looses so much effectiveness as it becomes ordinary and predictable. It's a shame that a little of the imagination shown in the first part of the film was not evident towards the end. The film is 8/10 for the first hour, 5/10 for the rest. I feel it deserves 6/10 in total.

Neil Jordan's first-rate direction (many clever camera angles and a few poetic overtones; watch for the shots from the perspective of the surface of the lake) redeems an awfully derivative script, that steals elements from at least two popular horror entries: "Nightmare on Elm Street" and, especially, "The Eyes Of Laura Mars". In some ways, this is a grim, unconventional, often gripping thriller, but the last 20 minutes are weakened by Robert Downey's terrible performance as a psychopathic serial killer; he just keeps mumbling and overacting (maybe he should take some lessons from Anthony Hopkins). On the other hand, Benning is quite convincing, and Aidan Quinn is just perfect is his relatively small part. (**1/2)