The film begins in a, how can I say, strange way.
Very strange.
We see
Nicolas Cage
, the protagonist, in the park of his house when things begin to fall from the sky.
No, he is not a cow like in
A Chinese Tale
, but faced with the danger of what would be his daughter, the character does nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
He doesn't even flinch.
Paul Matthews is an ordinary man, with a routine life.
And if he thinks she was boring, it's better not to know what happened to her on a good (or bad) day.
Paul is a teacher, he teaches classes, and from one moment to the next he finds out that he appears in other people's dreams.
The first people to tell him are close friends (an ex, one of his students), but very soon Paul materializes in the dreams (better, nightmares) of thousands of people, who had had no relationship with him.
How not to be scared.
Paul (Nicolas Cage) begins to have a fame that he does not want.
Photos Imagem Films
How is it possible?
Everything expands when the media and the Internet begin to spread the news.
Paul begins to acquire a fame that he did not ask for, which he denies but which he embraces to get a marketing company, which sees in him a business to grow, to publish a book that he has always wanted to write.
Things get complicated when Paul's passive role in the dreams becomes active.
And in the worst way: like a
Freddy Krueger
, from
A Nightmare in the Deep of the Night
, Paul violently hurts or rapes those who dream of him... For now, in his dreams.
From being a well-known -and popular- face in the media, the character falls into disgrace.
If before he did not help people from catastrophes, attacks or monsters, now he is the synonym for danger.
The plot of
The Dream Man
seems to have emerged from minds like those of Charlie Kaufman or Spike Jonze.
But no, it is from the Norwegian Kristoffer Borgli, who passed through the Cannes Festival with his previous film and with this one he achieved a Golden Globe nomination for best comedy actor for his protagonist, Nicolas Cage.
It is already known that Cage is reborn and sinks in his career, and that he says yes to all the scripts that are offered to him out of a need for money (he was scammed by his accountant, a few years ago).
But
there is nothing wrong with the script of
The Dream Man .
The film also parodies the world of marketing and media.
Absolutely.
Yes, it is original, like
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
or
The Orchid Thief
, in which Cage acted.
Borgli adds a twist to the story when Paul, in the nightmares, is aggressive.
In his inner circle, no one wants to have anything to do with him, and they even prevent him from going to an event in which his daughter will perform.
But
The Man of Dreams
is more comedy than horror film, with some hilarious situations.
The absurd will soon take over the plot, apart from the criticism of the media and a sick society, fearful of what it does not know or understand.
Signing copies.
How an ordinary man's life becomes extraordinary.
Somewhat bald and bearded, Nicolas Cage has perhaps never played comedy like he does here.
He is clearly the victim of the film, a production as provocative as it is ambitious.
"The man of dreams"
Good
Comedy/horror.
United States, 2023.
Original title
:
“Dream Scenario”
.
102', SAM 13 R.
From:
Kristoffer Borgli.
Starring:
Nicolas Cage, Lily Bird, Julianne Nicholson, Dylan Baker.
Theaters:
Hoyts Abasto, Cinemark Palermo, Cinépolis Recoleta, Avellaneda and Pilar, Showcase Belgrano and Haedo.