Beyond Fest review: 'Dream Scenario' finds poignancy in surreal comedy

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Dream Scenario, which screened at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles, is both a clever fantasy comedy and a satirical parable. It fully explores the premises of shared dreams and meme fame.

Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) is a tenured professor, but otherwise feels inadequate. He hasn't committed to writing a book he's always talked about, and feels jealous of colleagues who are accomplishing things in his field.

First, Paul's daughter has strange recurring dreams in which her father appears. Then former acquaintances and his students see him in their dreams.

Then strangers everywhere start to dream about Paul. At first Paul is still insecure that he's not more proactive in those dreams, but quite quickly he embraces the fame.

In a world where people can get famous for going viral for a tweet or a TikTok video, Paul literally did nothing to achieve this fame. Writer/director Kristoffer Borgli was smart not to explain why this happened, because the ambiguity is more interesting than any explanation could be.

Viewers can bring their own interpretation to what Paul appearing in strangers' dreams means, but the underlying point is that he had no control over his notoriety. Paul welcomes recognition for being a novelty, which is pathetic and his ultimate downfall.

Like any kind of fame, some of the attention it brings is unwanted, especially when it threatens the family's safety. But invasions of privacy can be guarded against.

The fame cycle takes on a life of its own. The agents (Michael Cera, Dylan Gelula and Kate Berlant), who try to capitalize on Paul's fame, are hilarious extrapolations of corporate opportunists, and Paul doesn't put up enough resistance to selling out.

When someone asks Paul to recreate her dream, Paul is hilariously more awkward in real life. Then the dreams turn dark.

The unpredictable nature of dreams is a good metaphor for the fickle nature of fame. When Paul starts to suffer for how people dream about him, it highlights the absurdity of benefiting from the other extreme.

It's not entirely a one-to-one correlation. In real life, when celebrities fall out of favor, it is a reaction to something they did.

Blaming Paul for dreams is absurd, but Paul does make some poor decisions in his reactions to the backlash. He does have to own his waking decisions.

Paul is an average guy in an extraordinary situation, but Cage plays even the average part as quirky. Paul tries to play off his insecurities with humor, but he's unsuccessful as it's always clear he's actually upset about the issue he's joking about.

Cage is a master at modifying his voice for different roles, the most extreme being Vampire's Kiss. Here, he gives Paul a nasal affectation but projects his mundane observations and lame jokes with conviction.

The dreams themselves are just a little bit surreal to indicate they are not reality, but they're all filmed at real locations. They're not total visual effect constructions, but they are bizarre, like eating mushrooms in a forest while wearing a tuxedo.

Some dreams draw on common recurring dreams like losing teeth. Some people have sex dreams about Paul, but in every case it is bizarre to see Paul in his pullover sweater in whatever scenario the dream entails.

Borgli also films Paul from below, giving the real Paul an off-kilter look in waking scenes while everyone else is filmed straight ahead.

Given the premise of absurd dreams, it's not surprising that the film does not end conclusively. It is likely by design to leave the story a tad open ended, but it does push some of the themes to outrageous extremes before leaving the viewer to think about it all.

Dream Scenario always finds the humor in even the darkest elements of Paul's story. It has a lot to say valuing false idols, including indicting the idol himself, but with humor the poignancy is far more subtle.

Dream Scenario opens in theaters Nov. 10.

Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.