Verdict
Summary
I get what the film was trying for, but writer / director Michel Franco was never able to achieve liftoff with this one. In the ’90s this would’ve made a solid erotic thriller, but today it’s far too influenced and tainted by the #MeToo movement to succeed as a thriller. It’s a drippy drama with a poor final act that isn’t earned.
Plot:
A relationship between an undocumented dancer and a wealthy American socialite turns toxic.
Review:
Jennifer McCarthy (Jessica Chastain) is a wealthy socialite and patron of the arts with deep connections to the art world; her father (played by Marshall Bell) and brother (played by Rupert Friend) are both intrinsically tied to the arts, and money is barely even an afterthought for her. She lives on the provisions that are provided for her, and what she wants, she gets. It is already established that she is having an intense sexual relationship with an undocumented Mexican migrant named Fernando (Isaac Hernandez), a young dancer with some talent that doesn’t go unnoticed by the director of the ballet where Jennifer often contributes as a donor. He might very well become a ballet star if given the chance, but she treats him like a possession; she’s jealous of him and keeps him on a very short leash, and just to spite him, she has him deported by ICE, but then after sneaking back through the border in a difficult crossing where he almost dies, he makes a fatal error by assuming he can treat Jennifer with anger and humiliate her. She takes the relationship to a whole different level and shatters his dreams forever.
A simplistic erotic drama with characters that never feel real or dimensional despite performances that give as much as they can with the weak material, Dreams has a seed of a concept that might’ve been much more compelling if it had been fleshed out some more. Chastain is clearly the villain here, but there’s not enough meat on the bones of the script to make the film worth watching just because she’s quite strong in it. It’s a bold and brazenly physically demanding role, but unfortunately, the dynamic between her and Hernandez isn’t given enough to thrive as a love / hate / love / obsession relationship. I get what the film was trying for, but writer / director Michel Franco was never able to achieve liftoff with this one. In the ’90s this would’ve made a solid erotic thriller, but today it’s far too influenced and tainted by the #MeToo movement to succeed as a thriller. It’s a drippy drama with a poor final act that isn’t earned.
Kino Lorber has released a Blu-ray for Dreams, and it comes in a bare bones disc. No special features are included.
