Jacked In Reviews ‘Dream Scenario’ (2023)

We recently paid a visit to Tyneside Cinema’s Gallery screen. The intimate space and alternative setting provided a very apt experience for Kristoffer Borgli’s dark comedy, Dream Scenario.

We follow Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage), an average Joe (in every sense of the word) who all of sudden, inexplicably starts turning up in people’s dreams. Having no bearing on the content of the dreams themselves (or the outcome for that matter), Paul simply shows up as an unintrusive voyeur (hilariously not helping, even if the dreamer is in distress or danger).

He absolutely nails it with this deliciously dull, dream-invading professor.

From the moment you meet Paul ‘unsure of himself’ Matthews, with his over-the-hill reverse fade, sad sweater and pitiful parka, you realise how sad it is that we haven’t seen Cage play this much of a melt since parodying writer, Charlie Kaufman. Once again though, he absolutely nails it with this deliciously dull, dream-invading professor. Borgli even cited Spike Jonze’s (Adaptation) surrealistic style as inspiration for this picture.

It’s Paul’s perplexed reaction to his daughter’s dream – when he finds out he didn’t intervene – that sums the character up and how those around seem to perceive him. This continues to be his role as the number of people’s dreams he pops up in begins to grow.

Producing this feature, we have Ari Aster at the helm and much like Beau Is Afraid (2023), this flick draws you in with its cringe comedy – something which peaks during a certain erotic couch dream “reenactment”- (massive props to the acting talents of Dylan Gelula). Like slowing your car down as you pass a crash, you just can’t take your eyes off the awkwardness, especially with Cage’s delivery, assuring you that you’re right to laugh.

Although this story alone would have kept you engaged for the duration, the third act sees Paul have more of a hostile input in people’s dreams, turning them into nightmares and bringing about negative consequences to his real life.

It’s no coincidence that this film has come out now…

It’s no coincidence that this film has come out now, much like Borgli’s last film, Sick of Myself (2022) it tells the tale of 21st-century fame. Only here we’re looking at the opposite side of the same, viral coin, with the story of an individual becoming well-known by doing (practically) nothing and even having brands – such as Sprite – wanting to capitalise on this fame. Not only that but also showing that person getting “cancelled” through no fault of their own.

It does a brilliant job of using the medium of dreams to showcase Paul’s function in life and how it progresses throughout. The ending is no exception. As Borgli gives us this beautiful moment of him slipping away from his family and out of the limelight (in the infamous oversized David Byrne suit).

A brilliant supporting cast, namely Julianne Nicholson as Janet Matthews who effortlessly seems to build Paul’s confidence and destroy it simultaneously. And we can’t forget Michael Cera and Kate Berlant as the opportunist hipster agents that make your face scrunch with every pretentious statement.

He has always been, no matter the movie, unapologetically, Nic F*cking Cage.

People keep mentioning this as the continuing resurgence of Cage… but he never went away. The movies he has found himself a part of in recent years have certainly been a more deserving fit for the actor’s abilities – allowing him to do what he does best – but he has always been, no matter the movie, unapologetically, Nic F*cking Cage.

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