As someone who shares a first name and birthday with one of the most entertaining actors of our generation, Nicolas Cage, the idea of the enigmatic, eclectic, and uniquely charismatic man randomly entering my dreams and just hanging about seems like a wonderful prospect. And I am certain that many other fans of Cage would agree.
Dream Scenario, a comedy-drama from Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli, acts as a tease of what could be by following Paul Matthews (Cage), a hapless and mild-mannered professor and family man who unwillingly rises in viral fame when tens of thousands of people around the world begin to see Paul in their dreams. The true oddity of this abstract epidemic is that Paul does nothing in their dreams. He’s just there. But fame isn’t all it cracks up to be for the fragile ego of Paul Matthews, and the effects begin to show in the places it should matter for him the most.
Borgli’s unique and intriguing concept is undoubtedly a draw to see the film itself (with Nicolas Cage being a very close second). The idea of collective thought, especially through dreams, is approached with an absurd realism that is equal amounts weird, as it is grounded. The reactions of the everyday people as they begin to realise they’re all seeing this random guy in their dreams, and the 21st century specific reaction of having to post about it to various social media platforms act as a strong access point for the audience to go on the weird journey of discovery in to what these dreams mean, and who the hell Paul Matthews is?
The concept is also an interesting vessel to explore the fragility of the male ego, something that the character of Paul Matthews struggles to deal with on a daily basis. He’s a balding professor, in a marriage he doesn’t feel overly committed too, with a young family he takes barely enough interest in, being left behind by his college alumni who are off publishing international science articles involving his work, who is not receiving an unprecedented amount of attention. His lows may not seem like lows for a lot of people who think a loving family and a stable job is a pretty damn good life, but Paul’s inability to let his pride not be at the forefront of his mind, but with the added jab of his scientific research being used without his credits, creates an interestingly complex protagonist for this tale, who is inadvertently his own antagonist too.
It’s Nicolas Cage who brings Paul Matthews to life with such sincerity in what might be one of Cage’s best performances since his Academy Award winning turn in Leaving Las Vegas, or the Oscar nominated Adaptation. There’s a great dichotomy at play within Paul Matthews as a character in how Nicolas Cage himself as an actor can demand sympathy from the audience through the convincing bumbling, goofball persona that Cage plays Matthews with, but it’s Matthew’s inability to handle his pride and ego as a fictional character, and then the spiraling ramifications of how it interferes with his relationships, which creates the interesting complexities of the human ego condition.
As Dream Scenario diverts away from the foundation of its abstract premise, the story focuses on the breakdown of Matthew’s ego as the fame rises and becomes a more personalised look at how unexpected (and perhaps unwanted) notoriety effects people in this modern age. Being drawn to the attention causes contention between Matthew’s and his wife and children, people who he has been emotionally neglecting prior to his sudden fame, albeit unwillingly at times, and the issues that arise when the family unit is affected causes a lot of the emotional investment into the story. However, there is a hilarious and eye-rolling element of satire as the film explores this modern age’s reaction to abstract virality. Whether it’s sexual advances from women who would be considered far out of Matthew’s league, or a new-age media brand led by a fantastic cameo performance from Michael Cera, the deconstruction of the banality of 21st century virality is incredibly entertaining to watch.
The thematic richness and strong performances that make up Dream Scenario are only enhanced by the brilliant visual flair of director Kristoffer Borgli. The dream scenes do feel, for lack of a better phrase, incredibly dreamlike. The everchanging elements in the physicality of dreams, whether it’s inanimate objects randomly moving locations, or even the simplicity of being chased by the most random of creatures, the visual styling of the various dream sequences that we do see as the audience are captured in such an engaging manner by Borgli. Even the real-life scenes have a dreamlike oddity to them, with unique camera placement and staging creating an ethereal feeling to Paul Matthew’s journey. Borgli, who also serves as the film’s editor, uses an array of chopping and cutting technique to enhance not just the dream states feeling, but incredibly comedically as well.
Dream Scenario will bring audiences in through its unique premise, with everyone’s favourite Nicolas Cage leading the show, alone. However, it’s Kristoffer Borgli’s confidence in his visual style, along with his brilliant screenplay that deconstructs modern day internet virality and its effect on fragile male ego that provides a complex story that is equally hilarious and impactful.
Dream Scenario is in Australian cinemas on New Year’s Day, courtesy of VVS Films.
