In Dreams

There are some films that kind of fly under the radar, going unnoticed. Despite the talented cast (Annette Bening, Aiden Quinn, Stephen Rea, Paul Guilfoyle, and Robert Downey, Jr.) and renowned director (Neil Jordan; The Company of Wolves & The Crying Game), In Dreams (1999) didn’t quite make any sort of impact. Compared to its significant budget for such a film as this, In Dreams is clearly a flop. Part of the reason, I guess, is perhaps the material—serial killer (played by Downey, Jr.) of little girls acting out due to a nightmarish upbringing (horrible mother leaving him in a town about to be submerged by water, creating a reservoir) with an artist (Bening) having dreams/visions that experience what he feels and sees—and that the film is more than a little intense (Bening slowly loses her mind because of her dreams; her daughter taken and killed, and her husband surprised and stabbed in the eye at a hotel, by Downey, Jr. doesn’t help her psychological state, either).

To have visions of a psychotic’s handiwork, and to realize he knows you are dreaming his experiences, Bening has a character under quite the tumult. Bening’s descent into psychological/emotional hell thanks to the ever-so-real dreams is especially grueling if you regard her with any sympathy whatsoever. Losing her daughter in such a way, and later becoming so overwhelmed by the dreams that she slits her wrists (not counting, after her daughter’s body was discovered at the reservoir drowned, driving off a bridge, over a cliff, into the water) after trashing her house while under the “spell” of the killer, all that mental duress and torture can be a bit difficult to watch. The premise is certainly unique for a serial killer thriller. This just isn’t an easy film…director Jordan doesn’t pull back the reins and give us much relief, because Bening’s dilemma remains constant throughout the film. Jordan’s style is also in your face—Bening’s horrified face, cries for help and urgent assistance to her husband and disheartening visions that seem to come too late to save children, and those tormented expressions that never let up because the dreams never still are all shot up close and personal. I may be wrong but I think this is the lone movie where Downey, Jr. goes full tilt boogie, always a loon. Aidan Quinn is the husband totally frustrated with his love life when his wife begins to see the visions, soon at a loss as to what he needs to do to rescue her. Rea is the psychiatrist who is on the fence regarding if he does or does not believe Bening’s ravings. Guilfoyle is preparing for CSI: Las Vegas as the cop working the Downey, Jr. child kill cases. But this film is truly focuses on Bening and the horrors she experiences. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to live in this role for Bening; her character is put through the ringer. The town’s “drowning” at the opening of the film was really an incredible visual…if anything, you need to see the film if just for this. Bening’s trying to rescue the newest abducted child (a girl who doesn’t quite understand that Downing, Jr. is a madman, since he’s a bit child-like) from Downey at the end, I thought (if nobody else did) was quite suspenseful. A critical and commercial misfire that I thought deserves a second look, if In Dreams happens to be on, check it out.