Customer Reviews

In Dreams

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

In Dreams is an extremely surreal movie shot in beautiful colors and unforgettable imagery. Quite shocking and violent, the scenes will stay with you for days after viewing this. Annette Benning gives a top notch preformance she IS Claire!!!!And Robert Downey Jr. gives a chilling preformance as Vivian, the confused villan.Highly reccomended nail biter...just wait until the climax at the end on the bridge...

What a wonderfully bizarre thriller this is! Annette Benning's performance alone makes it worth watching - but there is still so much more. The story is so unsettling you never quiet get your grip once the film starts moving. From the opening credits - where a ghost town becomes submerged as a reservoir to the jump-out-of-your-seat ending, this one is a real keeper. The photography and set pieces are absolutely beautiful and do much put the viewer in Benning's head. A wild, frightening trip.

The fabrics from which dreams are woven can be horrendous, and more catastrophic still when the visions return to the fertile grounds of your mind night after chaotic night. This point is made even more pronouncedly when the dreams happen to be about things that are occurring or are going to happen, especially when they teeter on the edge of insanity, or, as is the case with Claire, on areas that hit close to home. For several nights now she has been seeing visions of an apple orchard and a figure leading a little girl through it, leading her to believe that the child in her mind might well be a little girl that has gone missing. So, with an outstretched mentality, her mind goes searching, looking for something which she can clamp onto. Unfortunately for her, the mirror sometimes has a darker side, one that can peer into the mind that dreams visions, and that hands that can effectively whittle away many of the pieces that lead a person toward happiness, security, and the warmth that we like to call home.

In dreams had some beautiful depictions within it, capturing the aura of a town floating beneath waters unleashed by river diversion, showing a person in the first few minutes that it had a surreal feeling to it and that there was the ability to seem frightfully eerie running laps through its veins. This was further accented by the visions that were seen throughout the film, those of children and a past foretold in the shadows of a nursery rhyme wearing a shroud of insane speech and garble imagery, keeping its viewer enmeshed in the tale that was being portrayed upon the screen. It also seemed to have a storyline going for it that was interesting until the final chase that is inevitable begins to ensue, dragging on for a time before leading toward a vindictive ending that leaves everyone shattered as sprawling in the dust and that makes up for the duration of the run. This was an interesting ride, too, because getting a handle on what exactly is going to happen is a bit hard until alter in the movie, and then its all apples from there.

Combine this with the acting, which was done beautifully, the fact that the movie was something containing portions that entranced me within their bleakness, and the madness in the eyes of a Downey seems somewhat believable int he role, and you have something that is worth watching and that does the book its based on, Doll Eyes, a fair amount of justice. It'll make you question all the delightful dreams that manifest within your mind!

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!

"In Dreams" is the most terrifying movie i have ever seen, peroid. Everything in the movie has this stange reluctant quality, showing just enough for the viewer to crave more, yet at the same time producing an eerie fear for what is ahead. The story, thought a bit convoluted, takes the viewer hostage from the very beginning when the curiousity builds as the depths of an underwater town is being explored. Till the credits roll, and you are release, yet yearning to become the victim once again, just for a little longer. The acting is terrific especially from Benning who portaits the other side of sanity so convincingly, it gave me chills. She a character of need, and us, the mute witness, want to give her the assurance she so desperately longs for. Downey is great in his brief roll. He will scare you on a much more primative level, he almost seems too comfortable in this role. The imagery is great, the fixation with apples and nursery rhymes add to the atmosphere, feeding the unbridal terror that continues to build throughout the movie. Watching it is like walking through a peaceful meadow, feet gently dancing across the soft grass, slowly becoming trapped in a small room feet cold against the harsh floor. "In Dreams" gets to you on every level, this movie is not for everyone, but if you want to see a movie that will disturb, intrigue and terrify you, "In Dreams" is the movie for you.

Somehow I feel that if this film had been even stranger, it may have been more critically popular. Had it not bothered with as linear a storyline and just followed the dream-logic plotlines it may have been hailed as a David Lynch-like fairy tale nightmare; add more violence and it could be a Dario Argento film. But instead we have something by Neil Jordan, who gives this film more wonder and magic (albeit dark) than anyone else could. I think it's a great film. See, it's called In Dreams, not In Logic. Its surreality is its strength, staying visually spectacular at all times and boosted by an absolutely great performance by Annette Bening. I think the plot contrivances are almost subversive; OF COURSE there are moments of coincidence because that's what happens in dreams. Moments of opportunity or clarity (claire-ity?) arrive for our heroine and she takes them in stride. The film's general feel is continuously reinforced by the eerie flooded dream village in the reservoir, and the fairy tale orchard. This is a Grim tale alright, but its beautiful, trippy and saturated in atmosphere. Killer ending too, closing a disturbingly satisfying thriller by a masterful director. Highly recommended for those who like to dream.

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.

Perhaps one of the most evocative thrillers ever created for film, "In Dreams" is one of the most visually and psychologically stunning films that has ever come to the silver screen. It isn't very often that I can say this about a film and mean every word of it; even the best of movies have their flaws. Personally, I found this one to be quite flawless. The story and actors work together in every way possible to make the movie flow at a steady pace, and in the end, everything that is supposed to make sense does.

Annette Bening is Claire Cooper, wife of an airline pilot, mother of a little girl, and illustrator of childrens books. The family lives in a town that sits near a reservoir, which covers a ghost town that was abandoned in order for the reservoir to be built. Claire is beginning to have strange dreams as soon as the film begins, one being a little girl who is led into an orchard-like place full of apples by a long-haired individual. Soon after, her daughter is abducted from a school play, causing Claire to realize that the dreams she is having are visions of the future, believing that the killer is channeling them into her mind in order for her to find him. After they find the body of her daughter, Claire runs her car off the dam, ultimately surviving the fall and going into a coma for six months. During this period, she has visions of an orchard filled with apples, nursery rhymes written in blood on a wall, and a small boy tied to a bed in a room slowly filling with water. Going home from the hospital proves to be a bad decision, and after much mayhem, she is put into a mental institution, where she begins having dreams about the death of her husband. As the dreams keep coming, people keep thinking that she is crazy, until she finally escapes to find herself face-to-face with the killer himself, who has a dangerous surprise for her.

Little can be said to denounce the film; it simply is that good. What really keeps it moving are the macabre images of decay and death the pervade throughout the entire movie, keeping in touch with the sinister environment that is necessary for the movie's story. The images of the haunting dreams are the most significant, and these scenes are shot with poor color clarity and slightly soft-edged images to complete the sense of surrealism. The underwater photography used in filming the reservoir sequences is stupendous, and quite frightening as well. Moviegoers expect to see a sunken ship or marine vessel underneath the surface of water, but to see a town completely covered with water is a whole new ball game, a game that seems to have won. There is not an over-abundance of blood or gore in the film; scenes include a second-long shot of a dog eating a corpse, a man wearing sunglasses being stabbed in the eye, and a woman with slit wrists that hardly bleed.

The story is based on the novel "Doll's Eyes," written by Bari Wood, and screenwriters Bruce Robinson and Neil Jordan, who also directed the piece, have done a masterful job in bringing to the story a sense of overwhelming suspense and uncertainty. The truly magnificent aspect of the story is that everything that happens in the beginning and middle will all be tied back together in the end, making for a very satisfying and involving thriller.

The performances by the actors also make the movie enjoyable. This is, without a doubt, the best of Annette Bening's films, encompassing even her performance in American Beauty. This is clearly her movie, as she will be the centrifuge for all that goes on throughout the entire experience. Robert Downey, Jr. is a perfect psychotic, his long, dirty hair and sensational eyes pierce right into the subconscious of those who see him act in this movie, the element that creates the upset in Claire's life. Aidan Quinn is a convincing husband, though I did not particularly care for the way in which the character of the husband is portrayed; he could've been a little more sensitive to his wife's feelings. Stephen Rea plays the doctor who refuses to give up on Claire, and he does a good job in carrying us with him in his quest for the truth, even if that quest picks up later than is needed.

Under the glorious direction of Neil Jordan, "In Dreams" is a perfect and almost sparkling example of terrific thriller-making. It may well be said that this is the best movie I have ever seen in a long time, simply for the fact that it is solid entertainment that never stops moving, even if its audiences cannot keep up.

"In Dreams" is a great suspense movie! Unlike other films from its genre, "In Dreams" employs a unique storyline, setting it apart from the numerous cookie-cutter plots so common in movies in recent years. With a very talented ensemble, "In Dreams" captivates the audience from beginning to end, particularly through the outstanding performance of the lead role played by Annette Bening. Though the mood of this film is rather dark, it is not violent, gory, or gruesome (another aspect of filmmaking that is overdone). "In Dreams" is a thoroughly enjoyable movie.

Neil Jordans chilling psychodrama thriller In Dreams is a movie that will always come up on my list for the most impacting,disturbing films I have ever seen. It's wild, wacky, dark and absurd... and oh how it works. This is a film like no other- and Robert Downey Jr. is brilliant in this obscur performance. Annette Benning is her wonderful paranoid self in this thrill ride thriller. It will haunt you for days. I'm still haunted, two years later...