A great idea that comes good

Johnson Thomas

“How does it feel to go viral?” one of Professor Paul Mathews’ (played with astute oneness by Nicholas Cage) students asks him. Borgli’s third feature, and his first wholly in the English language, delves deep into that aspect, giving us living details of what happens to the man in the middle of it all.

This is a ‘concept’ film by writer/director Kristoffer Borgli, a Norwegian satirist who has had some history of filming absurd scenarios. He makes this about unexpected and unwanted fame and is one of a kind. Borgli’s script could be a riff inspired by a website called ‘Ever Dream This Man?’, which features an ordinary face that could appear in your dreams the longer you stare at him. There are plenty of surprises in store here, both pleasant and distinctly unpleasant, for the viewer as well as the character at the centre of it all. The narrative is a wild ride that carries through right to the sad end.

As Paul Matthews, Nicolas Cage is an ordinary sweater-wearing teacher with two daughters, a loving wife (Julianne Nicholson), and a good job. There is much more promise to him but it’s yet unfulfilled. He accuses an old colleague of stealing ideas and claims he’s writing a book when it’s all still in his head. He is way too average a person to be memorable. Yet, Nicholas Cage’s deft performance makes him unforgettable.

When he first starts appearing in his daughter’s dreams and then in those of his students, it’s amusing. But when that phenomenon escalates to include more people from across the country and the world, it all starts getting unsettling. When those sedentary dreams become threatening nightmares, it turns into a reason to ostracise him. People are suddenly terrified of him, and are cancelling him because of something that he didn’t do. Just when Paul thinks he might be able to encash his newfound fame to promote his work in the evolutionary biology of insects and maybe get started on the book about “antelligence”, things start going haywire. Paul’s affability is such that he isn’t a threat to anyone.

It’s Cage’s craft and the director and cinematographer’s brilliant visualisation of the subject matter that hold sway here. We experience a palpable misery in Paul’s expressions. Cage is so naturally down-to-earth and nondescript that we believe in his awkwardness and desperation to be liked.

This is also a horror movie highlighting how the world gets vindictive against an insipid, ineffectual person just because he happens to exist and they need to blame someone. Borgli and cinematographer Benjamin Loeb create a carefully studied portrait within an atmosphere that is all muted and grey.

The change in the tone and tempo as the dreams shift to nightmares while Paul becomes a victim of overt aggression and cancel culture is heartrending.

Borgli’s narrative is darkly humorous and unsettling. While the subject matter may seem a bit hazy, Borgli manages to draw us in with some inspired scripting and sharp helming. The punch-drunk narrative fuels humour as well as helplessness and disquiet. There are a lot of laughs to be had here, especially when Paul, flattered by the attention, says, “Have you been dreaming about me?”

His crying video begging for empathy feels a little insincere and forced, even though it ties in with what influencers are known to do.

‘Dream Scenario’ is above all a cautionary tale about unexpected fame and how it’s impossible to control how others interpret it. Go for it!