Customer Reviews

Dreamland (Widescreen)

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

DREAMLAND is one of those little Indie films that sneaks up on you, draws you in and leaves you feeling fulfilled. Written by Tom Willett and directed with great sensitivity to both style and message by Jason Matzner, the film boasts a truly remarkable cast in every role and the ensemble acting is some of the finest in this year's lineup.

"Dreamland" is the name of a very small trailer park in New Mexico, out in the sticks, yes, but surrounded by the magnificence of majestic clouds in crystalline blue skies and a land free of industrial detritus - except for the powerlines that play such an important role in the story. In a sad trailer house live Audrey (Agnes Bruckner), a poet who has given up chances for college to remain with her father Henry (John Corbett), a man decimated by the death of his wife to the point that he is unable to leave the trailer even to buy the beer and cigarettes that sustain his life. Audrey also is caring for her closest friend Calista (Kelli Garner), a beautiful girl who dreams of becoming Miss America but knows her life is to be shortened by the fact that she suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. Audrey writes her poetry but her life is consumed by being the caretaker for Henry and Calista.

Into the trailer park moves a new 'family' - hunky young Mookie (Justin Long) and his mother ex-singer/performer Mary (Gina Gershon) and her live-in boyfriend Herb (Chris Mulkey). Audrey and Calista watch them unpack and while both girls find Mookie attractive, Audrey talks Calista into dating him. Audrey's only male contact is her 'sex-buddy', tacky and gawky Abraham (Brian Klugman) who works at the local convenience store with Audrey. Mookie and Calista begin an affair while Audrey looks on longingly, and when Calista lets Mookie know she has MS the relationship is strained: Mookie also is leaving for the university soon.

Audrey confesses her feelings for Mookie and Calista flees on a motorcycle to chase the now departed Mookie. She is in an accident and is hospitalized and since she has broken her relationship with her caretaker Audrey, Henry manages to draw enough courage to leave his trailer to sit at Calista's hospital bedside - along with visits from Mookie. Calista's accident makes her even more aware of her fractured future and she releases her feelings for Mookie, reconnects with Audrey, and Audrey's father discovers her many letters of acceptance to college she has hidden to prevent abandoning her role as caretaker and convinces Audrey to flow with her dreams instead of being imprisoned in Dreamland. And the manner in which each of the characters in the film resolves the changes now facing them is the tender ending of the story.

DREAMLAND is created by a very strong cast of fine actors who dwell solidly within their characters' psyches, making this somewhat surreal story very real indeed. The setting is extraordinary in its ordinariness and the camerawork by Jonathan Sela is impeccable. This is a strong story about coming of age, about quality of love, and about being human. It is a treasure. Grady Harp, December 06

Life has potential and hope springs eternal even out in the middle of nowhere (New Mexico to be precise) at a rundown trailer park appropriately named "Dreamland."

We've all driven by such rundown, out of the way places and wondered what would possess a person to settle down in such a location. Are they people with hopes, ambitions and talents? Are they people like you and me? Maybe yes, maybe no. 'Dreamland' released in '05 deals with just such a quaint, out-of-the-way spot where a small group of individuals dwell away from the maddening crowd in an attempt to sort out the mysteries of life and the possible opportunities that await outside their cloistered community.

I enjoyed this movie. `Dreamland' contains an attractive cast of characters, a strong storyline with some quirky situations, beautiful desert scenery and an enjoyable Indie soundtrack. This is a film that will stand up well to repeat viewings, which is the bottom line for any good movie.

P.S.: If you know of any trailer parks that have female residents as good-looking as the one's in this film please give me a call.

There are two things that work well in first-time director Jason Matzner's leisurely paced 2006 indie drama. The first are the arresting visuals of the sun-parched New Mexico desert landscape courtesy of the rich, mirage-like cinematography of Jonathan Sela. The second is the touching performance of Agnes Bruckner as eighteen-year old Audrey, the emotional focus of this rather idiosyncratic coming-of-age story. Looking and acting a bit like Toni Collette's prettier baby sister, Bruckner lends refreshing resonance to a role that could have been left as another put-upon teen coming to terms with her life. Written by Tom Willett, the story takes place in the aptly named Dreamland, an isolated trailer park where a group of people are living just outside of the mainstream.

What we discover in Dreamland is a community of needy misfits with Audrey the common thread who nobly helps them carry on with their lives. She lives with her beer-swilling, agoraphobic father, who stays in the trailer park like a recluse unable to get past his wife's death two years prior. She also takes care of her best friend, the self-dubbed Calista, a beauty queen wannabe gradually deteriorating from multiple sclerosis. All the while, Audrey works at the local mini-mart with her beatnik co-worker Abraham with whom she experiments carnally on occasion. When a new family moves into the park, Audrey and Calista are both attracted to Mookie, the basketball-obsessed son of a minor-league rock singer just about to marry her pedal steel guitar-playing boyfriend. The inevitable complications occur and lead to a tragic event that forces all the co-dependency issues to come to the surface.

The movie has a loping though occasionally inviting tone until the contrived accident at which point Willett seems to shift gears into standard melodrama as if there is a loss of faith in the story. Character transformations occur more as plot conveniences leaving the resolution feeling rather hollow. Beyond Bruckner, the cast is solid even though the characters seem only half-baked. Using his innate likeability from playing decent guys on "Northern Exposure" and "Sex in the City", John Corbett does what he can with the impossible role of the father. Kelli Garner effectively manages to combine effervescence and fragility as Calista. Even though he looks too short to be convincing as a basketball scholarship candidate, Justin Long provides affecting moments as Mookie when he is not contriving basketball analogies to explain his feelings. The usually more intriguing Gina Gershon is barely onscreen as his mother. Other than previews of current theatrical releases and new DVDs, there are no extras to be found on the 2006 DVD.

I came across this movie while searching for films featuring Justin Long and I am so glad I did .
I am accustomed to seeing Justin Long in romantic comedies and was quite pleasantly surprised by his dramatic acting ability in this little film which was criticallty acclaimed at the Sundance Film Festival .

Others have reviewed the movie in excellent fashion, giving a graet synopsis of this film, so I will not bother to elaborate on those well written reviews.

I just want to add that this is a film that you will remember, unlike so many others that are out today .
You will be touched by the heartfelt and poignant performances of the entire cast and it will leave an impression on you.

You will relate to all the characters - the agoraphobic , anxiety ridden and grief struck John Corbett, who does a very good job with his role .

Kelli Garner as the pretty friend suggering from MS is often reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe in many of the scenes and Agnes Brucker is outstanding as the selfless friend who has so much to give and gives so little to herself.

I really recommend this film if you like a movie that stays with you and leaves an impression long after you have watched it .

"Dreamland" is one of those movies that come out every year and stay completely below the radar and maintain only the smallest of audiences. It was one of those movies I saw the trailer for and just thought "I have to see that movie." It, in the end, falls short in many areas and isn't a masterpiece; But it's got some powerhouse performances and a great look and mood to it. Agnes Brucker, a talented actress who appeared in "The Woods," plays Audrey, an aspiring poet, who lives in a trailer park deep in New Mexico called Dreamland. Audrey lives with her dad Henry (John Corbett); a man who lives in an alcohol induced haze and likes to reminisce about his long-dead wife. Audrey's best friend is Calista (Kelli Garner, 'Thumbsucker'), a girl recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis who one day dreams of winning Miss America. Their lives are long and empty. Audrey works at a convenience store and has sex with her co-worker, then she goes home and writes poetry, or hangs out with Calista. Then a new family moves in; Mom, Mary (Gina Gershon), boyfriend Herb (Chris Mulkey), and son Mookie (Justin Long), who the girls instantly take a liking too. When Calista and Mookie start dating, Audrey (whose life is all about supporting the people around her) finds jealousy consuming her. Eventually, Mookie and Audrey find themselves falling for each other and so on...The movie comes very close to becoming a masterpiece. It's got all the elements; great acting, great cinematography, great art direction, and great dialogue. It's the script (by Tom Willett) that just stops it from entering the realm of masterpiece. The film tends to drag in some spots, but is overall entertaining. I have to give Willett credit for writing a movie about people who live in a trailer park and not turning them into stereotypes. Nobody's fat, nobody's pregnant, nobody's missing any teeth, and even the alcoholic dad isn't abusive in any way. Corbett (who recently took a break from acting to pursue a career in country music) shows that he's got real acting chops that have yet to be fully seen with films like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and stints on the series "Sex & the City." The biggest surprise to me was Justin Long, an actor who normally dapples in comedies (Dodgeball, Accepted, etc.). The only dramatic role I've seen him in was in a horror movie called "Jeepers Creepers" but he gives a good, solid performance in "Dreamland." Bruckner and Garner are two actresses that have careers in front of them. They're not beautiful, but they both can act and even some dialogue that doesn't quite work sounds good coming from them. "Dreamland" is, overall, a minor masterpiece that is still a wonder of a debut film (the director, Jason Matzner, has the potential to be a very good filmmaker) and I recommend you see it if you enjoyed movies ranging from "Me and You and Everyone We Know" to "Thirteen."

GRADE: B

This is an odd sort of film - simplistic yet profound, sad yet somehow uplifting. There's a slight edge of surreality to the whole story, but the characters couldn't be more human. Basically, Dreamland left me feeling a bit odd and slightly out of sorts, but in a good way. It's as if I expected some kind of enlightenment to break through the clouds in the final moments, and the fact that this didn't happen strikes me as somehow profound.

You might recognize the lead actress from the film The Woods, but I've been a fan of Agnes Bruckner ever since I saw her in Rick (another indie film that deserves much more attention than it has received). It's true that I have a thing for redheads, but this young lady can act, and she has the kind of magical persona that only the greatest actresses are born with. Watching her in Dreamland, I saw some real similarities with Angelina Jolie in her facial expressions and the sheer power of her presence. It's an all-too-rare treat to see a great actress at work, and I can only hope that Agnes Bruckner gets the kinds of roles she deserves in the years ahead - she's really something special. Not to be outdone, however, is Kelli Garner, who turns in an impassioned, subtly exquisite performance as Calista, an ethereal beauty who dreams of becoming Miss America even as she lives with the knowledge and fear of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Dreamland, it turns out, is a trailer park out in the middle of the desert. The small number of inhabitants make up a surprisingly strong community, but the deepest bond is between Audrey (Bruckner) and Calista (Garner). It's a really confusing time for Audrey, who has just graduated from high school. Not only does she have her best friend to worry about, she also has to help take care of her father. Henry (played brilliantly by John Corbett) has never gotten over his wife's death. Not only does he spend most of his time drinking, he has not been able to leave the trailer park in over two years. He's emotionally and psychologically unable to take even a few steps outside Dreamland. Audrey is a smart girl who secretly wants to go to college, but she puts her own dreams aside, believing that her father and Calista need her to stay.

Audrey really begins to unravel, though, following the arrival of new neighbors - specifically, Mookie (Justin Long). True friend that she is, she sets Mookie up with Calista, then finds herself tormented by her own love for the guy. Obviously, Audrey's friendship with Calista will be tested by this unfortunate love triangle, setting in motion a series of events that ultimately change the lives of all the main characters.

As an aside, I have to ask why so many of today's young actors (e.g., Justin Long) look like junior versions of David Schwimmer. Isn't one David Schwimmer more than enough for all of us? And Mookie? Unless your character plays centerfield for the New York Mets, why would you call him Mookie? Obviously, I'm no Justin Long fan, but Dreamland really isn't about him, anyway. It's about friendship, love, sacrifice, hopes and dreams, and all of the other things that make us human - and it's truly a wonderful little story. Hollywood doesn't make nearly enough films like this.

I can't remember where or when I saw the preview for this movie but I knew I had to see it once I did see the preview. I'm not going to go into the actual plot. You can read the other reviews to get the plot. I'm leaving a review for others like me that are suckers for any story with an unrequited love theme. This movie definitely had it between Audrey & Mookie. Ah! So good. Not many people have even heard of this movie but everyone should rent it at least once. I'm very picky with movies I actually buy and this is a definite addition to my dvd collection.
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this is a movie back when there was not a care in the world and tose wanting to be loved by someone

I enjoyed this movie and thought the actors' portrayals of their characters was spot on in each case. I know some reviews have the casting of Justin Long as a basketball player as silly but, as a regular old movie watcher, I didn't even think about that. Some people just take things too literally. Also, several reviewers have said there's no trailer parks with people living in them this attractive. I beg to differ. I thought that though you could see the girls' (and Henry's) underlying beauty, they were 'made up' as people who really might live in their circumstances. Their acne wasn't covered up. Their hair wasn't fixed perfectly and Audrey's character, if she was wearing any makeup, it wasn't obvious. The characters also didn't look perfectly clean 24/7. What's silly, in my opinion, is believing that only unattractive or ugly people live in trailer parks. Very shallow thinking. Ever seen any of Hollywood's biggest stars without makeup? Most of them look very average. The movie was enjoyable to me. I'm glad I watched it and I felt like each actor did an excellent job at portraying his or her character. I would recommend this movie to any of my female friends or relatives. Many guys might think it's too much of a chick flick to enjoy as much as I did.

A fine movie with beautiful filming, music and a sound tale.
Overall this is a fine movie which can be watched by a family with minimal sexuality and language. No violence.
This is an exceptional film which deserves to be seen.