Nicolas Cage makes one of the roles of his life in “Dream scenario”
Published 2024-02-02 10.04
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full screen”Dream scenario”
Dream scenario
Directed by Kristoffer Borgli, with Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelul, Dylan Baker
MOVIE REVIEW. Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli lets Nicolas Cage play an academic with a grandiose self-image, and the result is as painful as it is funny.
COMEDY. For academician Paul (Nicolas Cage) starts the day like many others lately: his daughter has dreamed regarding him, and as usual the dream has been regarding him not lifting a finger to save her from a terrifying situation. As usual, he feels vaguely offended that this might be how she views him.
There is a sudden jostling and jostling among the students as he passes by in the corridors, wild strangers seem to recognize him in town. It turns out that he has inexplicably started appearing in lots of other people’s dreams as well. He goes viral and ends up on TV, then tumbles through the entire news cycle from phenomenon to apology video. The fame and attention he so long thought he deserved turns out to have a downside.
Cage gives one of the best performances of his life, and his Paul is not only dreary, he is also unlikeable, petty and has a grandiose self-image. Having to watch him interact with other people is excruciating – and the director Kristoffer Borgli pulls out onto the scenes, forces one to remain in them. You’re a worm on their hook, it’s “The Office” and “Curb your enthusiasm” times the sun. You have a lot of fun, but you can barely stand it.
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full screen Nicolas Cage in “Dream scenario”.
Borgli’s second feature film, “Sick of myself”, was shown in Swedish cinemas this summer, and already in it you got the feeling of a director who has completely found his home in voice, form and expression. His world is twisted, dark and peppered with body stains, absurd but internally logical and cleverly constructed. In it, he moves confidently, but not smugly. Both “Sick of myself” and “Dream scenario” are up and sniffing, but both are unfortunately lowered by a few unnecessary scenes that stand out and write the audience on the nose.
Eventually, “Dream scenario” is at least two-thirds reminiscent of Ari Aster’s absolutely masterful nightmare comedy “Beau is afraid”, and Aster also co-produced. Here there is the same dark humor, glimpses of the same kind of genuine melancholy, scenes with the same brutal fleshiness and violence. So yes, “Dream Scenario” isn’t a one-size-fits-all comedy – but for the rest of us, it is fest.
Shown in cinemas.
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full screen Joaquin Phoenix in Ari Aster’s “Beau is afraid”. Photo: Takashi Seida / Takashi Seida
Also be sure to see…
… Beau is afraid”. It is… It just is.
Did you know that…
… Nicolas Cage said that he wouldn’t have been able to play Paul as well if he hadn’t become an internet phenomenon himself with “Nic Cage losing his shit”?
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