Review: Dream Scenario — This Film Will Haunt You In Your Dreams
Film: Dream Scenario. Genre: Surreal Horror Comedy. Year: 2023. Writer: Kristoffer Borgli. Director: Kristoffer Borgli
SPOILER ALERT!
Earlier this year, we all witnessed the magic of cinema through the lens of Ari Aster, when the grotesque film ‘Beau is afraid’ was released. The rare genre left the audience craving for some more surreal horror comedy, something that triggers them to the core. Well, who would have thought that Aster would be producing yet another film, written and directed by the Norwegian filmmaker, Kristoffer Borgli, who made an amazing debut last year, with ‘Sick of myself’. His latest film, ‘Dream Scenario’ is a brave attempt for the mainstream cinema that takes us on a wild ride.
As soon as the story begins, we peek into the mediocre life of Paul Mathews (played by Nicholas Cage), an evolutionary biology professor who lives with his wife and two daughters. While they are at the table, enjoying a meal, his younger girl tells Paul that she saw him in a recurring nightmare, where she is crying for help, and he just stands there, doing nothing. This triggers his complex of being unsuccessful, and begins to panic. Later, we see him going to the movies with his wife, and on their way they bump into Paul’s ex, who mentions that she had a similar dream, leaving him curious and his wife tad bit jealous. Soon, this fiasco of popping up in other people’s dreams becomes an epidemic, and everyone becomes overwhelmed in his physical presence. This bizarre situation makes him a local celebrity, which turns out of control making him a boogey man around the world.
Although, it seems as if Paul adores his anonymity, getting attention from everyone actually makes him feel seen. He acts self conscious, but people approaching him, especially young women, leaves him flattered. With time, the carious phenomenon enhances his anxiety, making the dreams of the people worse. The character seems to have been deeply neglected as a child, perhaps even abused, making him ashamed of his own existence, hence doubting his own self. He never would have imagined that his deepest fantasy of being acknowledged would turn into a state of feeling naked in front of the world.
While his dark presence haunts everyone around him, he isn’t able to penetrate the dreams of his wife. Soon, the society shuns Paul and his family, forcing them to move somewhere else. The world moves on with an invention that copes with the contagious disease. A device allows people to connect with anyone around the world through their dreams, preventing them from uninvited visits from Paul. While people in America have moved on, the rest of the world is still thinking of him, which sustains his cult following, helping him sell his books. In the end, we are left with an open ending. It seems that Paul’s wife and children had already left him, yet he is drowned in his loneliness trying to seek his wife’s attention, through her dreams.
It’s ironic how one can have the entire world love or hate him, yet the person who sleeps next to him doesn’t even see him in their dreams. Paul’s oedipus complex, roots back to his childhood, where he may have experienced a dysfunctional relationship with his mother, creating a vacuum in his consciousness. He has attained fame, an achievement by his little self, that is screaming on the top of his lungs, “look at me Mom, I did it!”, yet the longing of resting his head on his mother’s bosom hasn’t been fulfilled. His soul still squirms at night, yearning to be pacified by her breast.
Every path leads homeward, every step is birth, every step is death, every grave is mother. — Herman Hesse
