DREAM WITH THE FISHES
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.0 Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
United States, 1997 U.S. Release Date: 7/11/97 (limited) Running Length: 1:37 MPAA Classification: R (Profanity, violence, sex, nudity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: David Arquette, Brad Hunt, Cathy Moriarty, Kathryn Erbe, Patrick McGaw, J.E. Freeman, Allyce Beasley Director: Finn Taylor Producers: Johnny Wow and Mitchell Stein Screenplay: Finn Taylor based on a story by Finn Taylor and Jeffrey Brown Cinematography: Barry Stone Music: Tito Larriva U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
The first thing I thought of when I heard the title of this film was a line from THE GODFATHER: "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fish." (Translation: Luca's dead.) Granted, sleeping isn't the same thing as dreaming, but it's close enough. However, although DREAM WITH THE FISHES deals with death and dying, those are just vehicles for other themes: the difficulty of communicating in today's world and the fear of living.
It could be argued (fairly successfully, I think) that DREAM WITH THE FISHES doesn't do enough with its subject matter. But, while it's true that there's a wealth of untapped material here, what is on screen is handled with the necessary aptitude to captivate an audience. Because the dialogue has a tendency to be trite, the characters are spottily-developed, and the acting is variable, DREAM WITH THE FISHES is not a great film. Nevertheless, it is a good film, and it's hard to deny the simple power of the climax.
The movie opens in a strange fashion, with images of a man using a pair of binoculars to gaze through neighboring windows. Moments later, the watcher, a reserved guy named Terry (David Arquette), and one of his objects, Nick (Brad Hunt), pass each other in a convenience store. Terry buys a bottle of booze that he takes with him to a nearby bridge, where he silently debates the virtues of jumping. Nick, who has followed Terry, offers an alternative: he'll trade a bottle of sleeping pills for Terry's watch. But is Terry really ready to die? Nick, on the other hand, doesn't have a choice in the matter. He has a terminal disease and the doctors give him only a month to live. So, rather than spending his last weeks in a hospital or with his concerned fiancee, Liz (Kathryn Erbe), Nick makes a pact with Terry and the two of them go on the road together, trying to determine which of them is better off: a dying man who wants to live or a living man who wants to die.
First time director Finn Taylor successfully avoids the pitfall of skidding into melodrama. DREAM WITH THE FISHES never goes for a "heartwrenching" payoff. The characters are presented on their own terms, and they don't lose their abrasive sides simply to make us more comfortable with them. The director also doesn't opt for the "arm's length" perspective -- we may not find either Terry or Nick appealing, but that doesn't prevent us from empathizing with them. DREAM WITH THE FISHES isn't meant to be watched from a detached viewpoint any more than it's intended to provoke streams of tears.
However, while the movie's approach, which shuns the nihilism of a SAVAGE NIGHTS and the mawkishness of a MY LIFE, is on-target, the tone is off. The opening scenes are rife with the mistakes of a freshman film maker, and it shows. For a while, Taylor doesn't seem to know where he's going and the actors don't have a solid handle on their characters. Although David Arquette, Brad Hunt, and Kathryn Erbe gradually grow into their on-screen alter egos, the first third of the picture is marred by awkward, unconvincing performances.
The good news is that as DREAM WITH THE FISHES progresses, it exhibits considerable improvement. Actors like Cathy Moriarty (as Nick's aunt) and J.E. Freeman (as Nick's super-macho father) add a little color and flavor to the proceedings, and an interesting contrast is presented between Nick's dream woman and his real one. We also learn that the tragedy of Terry's life isn't what we think it is. He's the epitome of loneliness and isolation, cut off from the rest of humanity by his perception of himself and his inability to interact with others. Despite his constant assertion that he has no fantasies, we learn that his entire life is balanced on an intricate fabrication less stable than a house of cards. While the ending offers hope, it remains carefully ambiguous, shunning an obvious Hollywood denouement.
At times, DREAM WITH FISHES is dream-like. The film's grainy look creates a gritty, down-to-earth mood. There are no pastels or beautiful vistas here. Irrespective of the heavy nature of the story, there are moments of sharp comedy (a cop's reaction to a dose of acid) and giddy exuberance (naked bowling). However, DREAM WITH THE FISHES is still afflicted with the kind of quirkiness that has become a hallmark of Generation X films. At least in this case, it seems better controlled than in many similar films about ennui.
DREAM WITH THE FISHES is definitely flawed, and many of its faults are opaque, but the film possesses a compelling quality that can draw an audience into the story and make us care about the characters. Taylor gets many of the details right and offers enough small surprises to make his directorial debut worthwhile. This combined buddy movie/road movie veers off the interstate to follow a less commonly traveled course.
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
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- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
"A film is a petrified fountain of thought." - Jean Cocteau
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