WHAT DREAMS MAY COME
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Release Date: October 2, 1998 Starring: Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Annabella Sciorra, Max von Sydow, Jessica Brooks, Josh Paddock Directed by: Vincent Ward Distributed by: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment MPAA Rating: PG-13 (thematic elements involving death, some disturbing images, language) URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/whatdreams.htm
Almost all movies start on paper somewhere - perhaps something a production exec scribbles on paper during lunch or an idea that a writer beats around in his head awhile before scripting a rough draft. From there, if it sounds good, the thing gets pitched to a studio that might be interested; if so, the movie is greenlighted into a production phase. Considering this process for Vincent Ward's latest drama, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, it's possible to think that everything sounded good until the movie was actually laid on plastic and sent to movie theaters nationwide. And in all fairness, it most likely was a good idea. But in this case, it's just one good idea that wasn't suited for film.
It's possible to see the shortcomings of DREAMS at the outset. Director Ward wants to work with a very metaphysical and esoteric concept for two hours, while simultaneously trying to mix solid drama and a sprinkling of Robin William's characteristic wit. It doesn't work, for there's just too much going on in his head for everything to come together onscreen. At times, the movie reaches inspiring levels of thought-provoking scripting, but these arrive at unexepected moments and it's likely that the audience will miss many of them. As a whole, the script is not very well done for such a good idea. It's a very muddled foray into an area of screenwriting that takes a very committed and experienced writer to perform well in. Writer Ronald Bass, basing it on the Richard Matheson novel, certainly has experience (RAIN MAN), but he doesn't have commitment, and the movie suffers because of it.
The cast has the goods but does not deliver. Williams is fun to watch, but he lacks the flair that he had in GOOD WILL HUNTING, and, ultimately, DEAD POETS SOCIETY. Here, he plays the lead of Chris Nielsen. Chris meets the lovely artist Annie (Annabella Sciorra) while on vacation in Europe, and the two fall in love and are married soon after. They have two kids, but not long after the movie's opening credits are the children killed off in a car accident. The couple suffers but survives until Chris is also killed in a car accident. He goes to Heaven, which, for him, is composed of his wife's paintings. It's there that he meets spiritual tour guide Al (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who gets him to know the hereafter. Back on Earth, Annie can't take the grief of losing her entire family and commits suicide; she goes to Hell. When Chris learns of this, he takes Al and an ancient netherworld tracker (Max von Sydow) on a journey to Hell to find Annie.
The rest of the cast is rather drab, including Cuba Gooding Jr. Gooding had showed promise after his Academy Award-winning performance in JERRY MAGUIRE and a delightful turn in AS GOOD AS IT GETS. Here, his job seems forced, and he doesn't fully become the character. The only one to lend any substance is Annabella Sciorra, who provides a solid sense of motivation for Williams' character. This rather mediocre cast doesn't help the script any, and so the movie's truly redeeming facets are the special effects and set design. WHAT DREAMS MAY COME makes very dynamic use of extreme color and lack thereof; the movie has a very powerful vision. It's watchable for the most part, but not extremely so. And unfortunately, it's about a subject that won't fly well with everyone, so you may have trouble convincing yourself that this one's worth the bucket of popcorn.
-- Craig Roush kinnopio@execpc.com -- Kinnopio's Movie Reviews http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
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