In Dreams (1999)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writers (WGA):

Bari Wood (novel)
Bruce Robinson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 January 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

You don't have to sleep to dream

Plot:

Claire Cooper dreams strange things from time to time. One night, she dreams about a little girl being taken away by a stranger...

Plot Keywords:

Dream | Padded Cell | Suicide Attempt | Daydream | Red

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Annette Bening	...	Claire Cooper
Katie Sagona	...	Rebecca Cooper
Aidan Quinn	...	Paul Cooper
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Vivian Thompson
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Detective Jack Kay
Kathleen Langlois	...	Snow White
Jennifer Berry	...	Hunter
Emma J. Brown	...	Dwarf
Jennifer Dragon	...	Dwarf
Samantha Kelly	...	Dwarf
Jennifer Caine Natenshon	...	Dwarf
Bethany M. Paquin	...	Dwarf
Erica Sullivan	...	Dwarf
Amelia Claire Novotny	...	Prince
Kristin Sroka	...	Wicked Stepmother

Also Known As:

Blue Vision (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/terror and language.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #36294) | Philippines:R-18 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Australia:MA | Canada:18A | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | South Korea:18 | UK:18 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: The First six minutes of the film while 'Aidan Quinn' and Annette Bening are at the bedroom doorway discussing her first dream about the missing girl, a black boom microphone can be clearly seen above them following each of their dialogue from behind the door header.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Claire: [Helping daughter rehearse lines from Snow White while walking through trees by lake.]
[In sing-song voice]
Claire: Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of us all?
Rebecca Cooper: [Skipping through trees by lake.]
[In sing-song voice]
Rebecca Cooper: You're the fairest in this hall but Snow WHITE is THE...
Claire: [Laughs] Come on Rebecca, forget it's a play. Just, say it like you're saying it to me.
Rebecca Cooper: [sing-song voice] Snow White's the fairest of them all.
Claire: And again.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Los sin nombre (1999)

Soundtrack:

DON'T SIT UNDER THE APPLE TREE

What is insanity truly like? Watch In Dreams and you'll find out.

The color red is very significant in In Dreams, in everything from the apples that seem to represent Claire's (Annette Bening) fears to the red dress that she is dressed in the numerous times that she 'dies' to the weird red color of Vivian's (Robert Downey Jr.) hair towards the end of the film. The color red is used to constantly remind the audience of the tenseness and fear in the film.

Ironically enough, the first thing that went through my mind when I saw Robert Downey Jr. as the psychopath as he approached Claire toward the end of the film was that he was horribly miscast in this film, and that his presence would inevitably lead to the ultimate disappointment that I expected to feel after the movie ended. However, aside from the goofy contact lenses that he wore and the obviously dyed hair, I was surprisingly impressed with his contribution to the film. In the film's closing scene, in particular, he was able to deliver one final performance that left jaws dropped as the credits began.

In Dreams is definitely not for everyone. I think that for this particular film, there will be people who loved it, people who hated it, and people who just didn't understand it, with probably not much in between. Unfortunately, it was much more effective on the big screen than on video, but with a healthy twist of the volume knob, it can be made to have virtually the same effect. Just don't watch it alone if you live out in the woods!