Surreal, somewhat pessimistic comedy has strong violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
Scary nightmare, with the main character running in an exaggerated manner and charging at a dreaming girl. Adult bashes teen's head with hammer; lots of blood. Man strangles young woman, slams her against wall. Strangling different woman with rope. Main character shot with arrows, bloody wounds. Woman's hand smashed in slamming door, lots of blood. Light fixture falls on man's head, leaving a gaping, bleeding wound. Blood-covered "tall man" stalks, attacks victim in nightmare. Main character has injured, bandaged face. He's hurt in a car accident, with some blood. Bloody face. Bloody mouth. Character pulls out bloody tooth. Bugs on face. Hooded figure threatens with knife. Dead dog, with buzzing flies. Jump scares. Tantrum, throwing things around room. Arguing. Character chokes on food. Dialogue about cutting off toes and eating them. Dialogue about suicide. One character spits on another's food.
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Language isn't constant but includes several uses of "f--k" and occasional uses of "s--t," "a--hole," "cum," "penis," "shut up," "stupid," "loser," "brats."
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Awkward seduction scene includes kissing, a woman unbuckling a man's pants, and a man prematurely climaxing (nothing visible). Strong sex-related dialogue. Sex dreams, shown in quick flashes, with touching between a woman's legs and a woman shown atop a man, moaning in pleasure.
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The movie viciously satirizes human flaws, from being overly sensitive or selfish to greed and lust (and especially the way that advertising fills our lives). But it also makes the point that, despite all of our faults, human connection is still the most precious thing there is. Mention of "cancel culture."
Positive Role Models
very little
Paul is an interesting character, but he frequently makes poor decisions, to varying degrees. Sometimes he just embarrasses himself, and other times he's beaten up or publicly disgraced. Most other characters demonstrate a kind of mob mentality, first embracing Paul, then spurning him.
Diverse Representations
very little
The story centers on Paul, a White man; most of the rest of the focus is on his wife and teen daughters, who are also White. But the large supporting cast is somewhat diverse. Black actor Tim Meadows plays Paul's friend, who's the dean of the college, and Paul's students represent a wide range of ethnicities. Strong/powerful female characters (all White) include two powerful female writers/journalists who meet with Paul and the marketing team that tries to leverage his fame into fortune.
Parents need to know that Dream Scenario is a surreal satirical comedy about an average college professor (Nicolas Cage) who suddenly, randomly begins appearing in other people's dreams. Expect several scary and/or unsettling nightmare sequences with attacks, strangling, bashing with blunt objects, shooting with arrows, etc. There are also bloody wounds, injuries, threats, and more. The script includes passages of pretty explicit sex-related dialogue and/or sexual situations, an awkward attempt at seduction, plus some flashes of a passionate sex act. Language isn't frequent but includes many uses of "f--k," plus "s--t," "a--hole," and more. Characters drink wine with dinner and socially in a bar. The movie isn't always an easy watch, but it's likely to be rewarding for adventurous viewers. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
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What's the Story?
In DREAM SCENARIO, tenured professor Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) lives an average life, teaching evolution theory to bored students and planning a book he hasn't even started writing. One day, random people begin to recognize him, because somehow Paul has been appearing in strangers' dreams, doing nothing except walking by or observing. He becomes instantly famous. He tries to use his newfound fame to find a publisher for his book, while eager agents merely want to use him to generate big advertising dollars. Things change as people's dreams turn from innocuous to violent and terrifying. Citizens start panicking when they see Paul in the flesh. And Paul's increasingly agitated behavior isn't doing him any favors. How will Paul get out of this pickle?
Taking a page from Charlie Kaufman's bleak, surreal human-condition comedies, this movie sustains its interesting idea until the very end and benefits from Cage's fearless performance. Written and directed by Norwegian-born Kristoffer Borgli, Dream Scenario does things right by never explaining why this Paul Matthews/dream phenomenon is happening -- or what it's supposed to mean. We're left to experience the effects of it, to explore it, emotionally, without worrying about details.
It's not always an easy journey. Paul is as socially awkward as they come, always speaking too much when silence would be more effective or trying to assert himself at the wrong times and failing. He's also drastically insecure, taking nearly every small thing as a personal criticism. However, like Beau Is Afraid (whose director, Ari Aster, is a producer here), the movie isn't an attack on Paul himself, but rather a satire of the vain, fickle, unsympathetic world that made him. (The cynical epilogue supports this idea.) Yet by the end, Dream Scenario leaves viewers with the thought that, despite all of our faults, human connection is still the most precious thing there is.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Dream Scenario's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
MPAA explanation:
language, violence and some sexual content
Last updated:
June 28, 2024
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By Jeffrey M. Anderson
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