By Joanne Sargent
Contributor
A mild-mannered ordinary man who invades people’s dreams becomes a social media sensation in Dream Scenario, a bold film with a wildly creative premise.
Nicolas Cage gives an impressive lead performance and Norwegian writer/director Kristoffer Borgil gives clever commentary about influencer culture and the nature of fame in this day and age. A co-presentation of Shuswap Film Society and Salmar Theatres, Dream Scenario will have four showings this weekend.
Evolutionary biology professor Paul Matthews is an inconspicuous academic who feels invisible to his students, his colleagues and his family. One day he achieves notoriety in the oddest of ways: millions of random strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. Paul becomes an instant celebrity, going viral across the globe. Delighting in his new-found fame, Paul is flattered by his students’ awed attention, but is frustrated that his presence in their dreams is much like his reality — he’s hardly noticed and just there. Then, inexplicably, he is no longer a passive observer in the dreams, which turn nightmarish and sinister, and the movie takes a shocking turn from quirky to extremely dark and disturbing.
Paul is blamed for his psychopathic and violent actions in the nightmares; students flee his classes and he is rebranded an object of fear and hatred. As lines blur between reality and dreams, the virtual world treats him like a criminal and he faces real-life consequences for actions he doesn’t control. The social media that propelled him to worldwide fame has now transformed him into a pariah.
Dream Scenario is a unique and inventive film that takes its audience on a roller coaster ride of ridiculous situations and even more unlikely repercussions. Using elements of comedy, horror and sci-fi to hurl jabs at the culture of celebrity, the temptation of social media fame is presented as a bargain with the devil that can quickly turn sour. It will make you laugh, but it will also make you uncomfortable.
Dream Scenario plays at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12, and Saturday, Jan. 13, and at 4 and 7:30 Sunday, Jan. 14 at the Classic.
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