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Reviews:
Good
Flick, Awful Pacing: What
Dreams May Come
by
Christian De Matteo
Solid
Sometimes a puzzle put together
incorrectly can still have an interesting
and striking effect.
Sure, you are aware of its many
imperfections and its imprecision, but yet
something still draws you to it for closer
inspection.
Upon conclusion of your viewing you
are satisfied, your curiosity settled and
maybe even somewhat entertained.
As a film, What Dreams May Come has just this effect.
Foraging into territory last well
handled in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey
(yes, I’m serious about that), Dreams
bravely creates both Heaven and Hell,
delving deeply into all the best sources. From New Wave thought to far Eastern interpretations to the
writings of Dante, the artistic direction
and writing of the film capture everything
you’ve ever thought about the afterlife;
dump it into a big stirring pot and come up
with some of the most interesting imagery
I’ve seen in a while.
Using an equivalent of the River Styx
to get into Dante’s Hell, we enter a
bizarre and dark place that doesn’t
exactly fit any description we’ve heard,
but sort of meets them all.
For Heaven we get the old line “It
is whatever you want it to be,” but now
with credence and a new set of rules to go
with it.
Visually the film is often stunning
and never overdone.
So why just a Solid?
Well, I can’t think of any other
movie I’ve ever seen that so completely
blew the pacing and structure.
Scenes that should last a minute last
ten and scenes that should last ten minutes
last three. The climax is so out of proportion it is basically premature,
and by the time the scene switches you
think, “Geez, well I guess that’s it.”
The film is an obvious case of an
ambitious director wanting desperately to
accomplish both plot movement and
characterization, but not sure what the
recipe is. How much Robin Williams and Annabella Sciora do we give
alive and how much dead?
Do we focus more on the relationship
as it was or as it is becoming? Why not balance them out?
Easier said than done, I realize, but
not uncommon.
I recommend this movie, though often
depressing and bordering sometimes on
sacrine, because it deals masterfully at
times with the concepts of Afterlife and
Sin. It
brings up religious points and attempts to
answer them without ever discounting the
other answers.
Parts are disturbing, few parts are
funny, and most parts are incorrectly
planned out, but regardless the film
entertains, makes it’s own impression and
leaves you with some fine
Pie-at-a-Diner-Afterward movie talk.
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