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In DreamsRating:
Release Date: 06 January, 2004 Retail Price: $9.99 OUR Price: $9.99 You SAVE: $0.00! Cast: Complete Cast (7 total) |
In Dreams Reviews
A Chilling Psychological Thriller
I'm a die hard Robert Downey, Jr. fan, so I typically rent any movie that he's in. I got "In Dreams" expecting a run of the mill, Scream-esque horror movie. What I got was the best thriller I've seen since Halloween H20.
In a movie that brilliantly revolves around a type of Snow White theme involving apples, Annette Bening plays Claire Cooper, a woman haunted by clairvoyant dreams.
When a gender shifting killer (Robert Downey, Jr.) invades Claire's dreams, his plans are conveyed to her and wreak havoc on her life and family.
Claire slowly goes insane as the killer, Vivian Thompson, feeds her clues to his next killings bit by bit. She slowly uncovers Vivian's terrifying story in a sequence of coincidental events.
The most chilling aspects of the movie are the least obvious, such as the haunting peace of the underwater town, the Northfield Reservoir, and the cleverly frightening insertions of the Andrews Sisters' song "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree". Also, Vivian's "nursery rhyme" is one that's been staying with me for a while, proving how good and genuinely scary this movie really is.
Not Such Sweet Dreams
Add Annette Benning to that long list of performances that didn't get nominated for, let alone, win an Oscar. Annette is simply stunning in this Neil Jordan thriller that got lost in 1998 and did not receive the acclaim it should have.
"In Dreams," based on the book "Doll's Eyes" by Bari Wood, is a haunting, and sometime disturbing, film. Annette plays a woman who has been haunted by strange dreams all of her life, sharing the life of a serial killer, played quite convincingly by Robert Downey, Jr. Aidan Quinn plays her husband, and in a delightful but short role, Pamela Payton-Wright shines as Benning's sanitorium roommate, Ethel.
The film abounds in delicious imagery, focusing on apples and Snow White. The terror mounts subtly, and is quite chilling. When Annette learns the fate of her daughter, Rebecca, she gives one of the most effective expressions of grief captured on film. Later, when she is being questioned by psychiatrist Stephen Rea, she blows you away with her attempt to be in control, when she obviously is not. A totally stunning tour de force for Annette.
Her performance alone makes this a five-star movie, although I would have appreciated a more detailed explanation for why her character shares this psychic link with Downey. Also, her relationship with her husband is not totally fleshed out. And how did Downey's character survive living in an abandoned orchard? Those questions' resolutions would have made this an absolutely perfect five stars. But, nonetheless, "In Dreams" is the kind of thriller that stays with you even after the credits have finished.
Also, kudos to Jordan for his use of songs in the movie. "If," "Ebb Tide," "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree," and Roy Orbison's title theme, are haunting and sure beats the rock crap we have to put up with most of today's movies.
Watch this and enjoy a really different thriller!
More Customer Reviews (7 total)
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