Kristoffer Borgli's second English language feature is a high-key concept with low-key delivery. This is not to do it down, only to note that the film has a slightly muddy look, and an almost soporific feel to it. This is in contrast to its razor-sharp treatment of culture wars and the trauma industry in the US, crucially viewed through the eyes of a European outsider.
The ace up the sleeve is the star (and producer) Nicolas Cage. He's always been a clever performer but in the last few years, he's been getting grungier, more shop-worn, possibly even less self-conscious. This is reflected in his choice of roles but it's hard to distinguish between the chicken and the egg in this respect. As Paul Matthews, an evolutionary biology professor at Osler University in an indistinct area of North America, Cage gives off an air of mundanity that you can almost whiff.
The conceit of Dream Scenario is that people are having dreams, not about Paul, but with him in them, observing events. Even people that don't know him. This is an odd bit of metaphysical fun, unexplainable but interesting. Paul appears on TV, his students and daughters start to show an interest, even his sensible wife takes advantage of the situation at her work. And, as he's trying to get a book off the ground, Paul also seeks representation in the shape of 'Thoughts?', a teeth-clenchingly irritating agency run by Michael Cera's Trent.
But when Molly (Dylan Gelula), an assistant at the agency, explains that Paul is certainly no mere observer in her dream, a cascade effect begins. Other people's dreams turn into nightmares, all with Paul as a bland Freddy Krueger (actually name checked by one character). The full force of the negative viral spiral clicks into gear, albeit in some pretty funny scenes, similar to Borgli's Sick of Myself, where the laughs vie with discomfort a lot of the time.
There's a bit to digest here. The black comedy mirror on modern society is the main game, but there's a bit about familial relationships and the effects of external stimuli on them. There's also a healthy stream of absurdism running through the cancel culture canal (shades of Cock Piss Partridge, for anyone who might be across that touchstone). And in one particularly relevant scene, Molly awkwardly proves dreams don't translate to reality.
Dream Scenario is biting in its wit and on point in its social commentary, with a top drawer turn from Cage. Not the perfect film, but definitely one worth watching. It'll be fun to see what Borgli gets up to next.
See/read also:
I highly recommend Jon Ronson's book So You've Been Publicly Shamed (2015) and sticking with the theme of 'cancel culture', Todd Field's Tar (2022) has a bit to say.
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