Before social media, most of us weren’t as constantly worried about our public image or “brand.” We’d go to school or work more to function than to build a life that looked appealing from the outside. But now, people can get an impression of our lives and personalities without engaging with us in person, forming a Frankenstein’s monster from the photos and comments we share in our online profiles. Facebook and Instagram users scroll through digital “proof” of our day-to-day existence the same way we eagerly flip through tabloid spreads of celebrities “caught” getting coffee or going grocery shopping. While ordinary people used to crave seeing these larger-than-life figures brought down to earth, we normies now yearn to be considered extraordinary.
Dream Scenario is a hilarious, horrifying and oddly heartfelt exploration of this hunger that’s feeding our anxiety and eating us up at the moment.
Nicolas Cage stars as Paul Matthews, a bumbling biology professor who’s eager for some sort of recognition. What he gets isn’t quite what he wished for, but people do start recognizing him … from their dreams. At first, he’s essentially an extra in their head movies, just wandering around in the background. (Aren’t our social media sessions basically like dreams, with loved ones and acquaintances randomly popping up to briefly occupy our brains?) Initially, Paul’s students and old friends start dreaming about him, but the dreams soon turn into an epidemic.
Paul eventually goes viral, and a vampiric PR firm pitches him various opportunities for further fame — from appearing in Sprite commercials to being President Obama’s subconscious sidekick.
Writer-director Kristoffer Borgli explores his Charlie Kaufman-like concept by way of Curb Your Enthusiasm-esque comedy of discomfort. But he also brings a surprising amount of poignancy at the same time. For example, after Paul awkwardly and amusingly brags about the Obama pitch to his wife (Julianne Nicholson), she assures him, “You don’t need to impress me. I love you.” With this short, quiet moment, the film speaks volumes about our social media-induced need for validation — even from those who love us unconditionally.
Like Curb Your Enthusiam’s Larry David, Cage keeps you on the edge of your seat, eagerly awaiting each cringy, disturbing situation coming around the corner. He makes Paul simultaneously sad, sweet and sickening.
As Paul grows alienated from his personal social circle and the world at large, it’s easy to imagine people thinking this movie lends undue legitimacy to the idea of cancel culture. (After all, is anything truly canceled in this world where people still watch Woody Allen movies amid all his controversies?) However, as in a nightmare, even if the idea of cancel culture is irrational, the fear of it remains real.
Paul is a challenging character. He clearly has love in his heart for his wife and daughters. But he’s also self-indulgent and abrasively insecure. (He even takes people’s nightmares about him as personal insults, despite the fact that they can’t control what lies in their subconscious.) Whether we can admit it or not, we’re all assholes sometimes. We can cherry-pick pictures and opinions to present ourselves in the best possible light, but we all let the façade slip eventually.
Viewers may dismiss Paul based on his often off-putting behavior. But doing so would only perpetuate the idea of personal “cancellation.” Dream Scenario dares us to stay with him through thick and thin, and those who do are likely under the spell of Cage’s powerful performance — one of his best in recent memory. He’ll have you squirming one minute and wanting to hug him the next.
Dream Scenario is one of the year’s most wonderfully original and bewitching films. It’s the kind of movie that comes along at just the right time to show us an uncomfortable reflection of ourselves and make us laugh. It might seem unclear in its stance on certain issues while also being too on the nose with others, but isn’t that the case with most dreams? Like the best dreams, this film will rise from the dark of your theater or living room and burn bright in your brain.