Tags
2000's, Cassandra's Dream, Clare Higgins, Colin Farrell, Drama, Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Sally Hawkins, Thriller, Tom Wilkinson, Woody Allen
Film Title
Cassandra’s Dream
Director
Woody Allen
Starring
- Ewan McGregor as Ian
- Colin Farrell as Terry
- Tom Wilkinson as Uncle Howard
- Hayley Atwell as Angela
- Sally Hawkins as Kate
- Clare Higgins as Dorothy
A dramatic thriller from Woody Allen that suffers from odd pacing, a none too special script that rehashes old ideas Allen has explored in other movies more successfully and lack of involving events, Cassandra’s Dream had currency but nearly every element conspires against it and we’re left watching a sub par film from a talented director.
Ian and Terry are two cockney brothers; the oldest Ian helps his somewhat lax father in his restaurant, whereas Terry works as a mechanic in a local garage and is engaged to the sweet Kate. What binds both of the brothers is the sense of financial dissatisfaction. This is heightened even more when Ian meets the beautiful but demanding actress , who he becomes very attracted to. Having always had aspirations to set up hotels in the Suns of California, inspires Ian to make some money to fulfill his dreams but also benefit her in the long run. Terry, who is prone to booze and excessive gambling despite being a well-meaning man, falls into debt and owes a lot of money to loan sharks who know how to hurt. With both brothers desperate for monetary stability and fast, help seems to come in the shape of their Uncle Howard, who they have always looked up to. He has helped the family in the past and being a self-made man, has worked his way up to being a millionaire. Yet for all this hard work, a lot of his deals have been on the very shady side. He agrees to endow his nephews if they first do one thing for him. It appears that one of Howard’s associates is threatening to expose some of his less than savory antics. The cunning and sinister Howard says the only way to stop his crook tactics in business from being exposed is to have the man killed, which he asks Ian and Terry to carry out. Both brothers are shocked by what he is asking them to do, but both come round to the idea( despite Terry becoming still twitchy about the lack of morality.) The brothers eventually manage to carry out the murderous deed successfully, but it begins to change their relationship. Ian, who wanted the money to keep up with high maintenance Angela, decides to think as if nothing happened as he becomes enamoured with the lump sum coming his way. On the other hand, Terry becomes eaten up by unspeakable guilty that consumes him more and more each day that leads to the shattering of him and his brother’s close friendship and spells very bad circumstances for both men.
While it must be stated that Woody Allen is a very gifted director and writer, Cassandra’s Dream doesn’t really paint his talent in the best way because of a number of issues and inconsistencies. You see Cassandra’s Dream is billed as a dramatic thriller with a morality theme at the centre(much like many of Allen’s later movies), yet it is curiously neither thrilling or dramatic. Granted, there are a few scenes with a bit of tension, yet none of them feel very suspenseful or at all that riveting. The way that the pace varies from very quick to a snail-like drudge does not help matters whatsoever. Cassandra’s Dream may be set in London like Match Point, but whereas that movie really had an urgency and dealt with themes of ambition, a sense of wealth and the cruelty of life, the same can’t be said of this misstep. A lot of it feels very clichéd and unlike some of his other work, many characters aren’t interesting enough as people to invest in or relate to. Thankfully there is at least some respite to be found in a gloomy visual style and a moody score from Philip Glass, that lends a degree of darkness to the film which it sorely lacks throughout a lot of it.
One other thing that keeps Cassandra’s Dream at least bearable is most of the cast, who rise above the somewhat checkered source material to turn in good work despite the script’s shortcomings. Despite them both sporting dodgy cockney accents, Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell impress the brothers in predicaments and torn apart by their actions. Ewan McGregor makes Ian likable and the most ambitious of the two, who seems to become more avaricious after committing murder and wanting the good life. Colin Farrell is the real standout, wearing his heart on his sleeve as the nervous Terry. Never has Farrell shown so much vulnerability and gentleness before, but here he really makes quite the impact with this change of pace as the emotionally tormented man forced into a dire situation that ruins him from the inside. As excellent as Tom Wilkinson is as the scheming and blackmailing Uncle Howard, I would have preferred to see more of him as I am a big fan of Tom Wilkinson. That doesn’t mean that he was bad here, he is far from it, he just feels shortchanged and not featured enough in the story, especially as his actions have a lot of effect on the story. Despite the underwritten nature of their characters, Hayley Atwell and Sally Hawkins do their best as the demanding, opportunistic Angela who bewitches Ian and the caring and tolerant Kate, who starts to worry for boyfriend Terry. The same can’t be said of Claire Higgins who is criminally wasted as the boy’s mother.
With little in the way of thrills or tension, Cassandra’s Dream falls very flat and despite some good parts, none can make up for the disjointed quality of what ranks as one Woody Allen’s weakest outings as director.
Wendell said:
I thought I’d at least heard of every Woody Allen movie there is, but somehow this one completely escaped me. Doesn’t sound like I’m missing much, though.
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vinnieh said:
Believe me this is a very forgettable movie, he’s done so many other great movies so it’s best to steer clear of this one.
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beetleypete said:
Another Woody film that I haven’t seen yet. Despite your well-written and balanced review, I am still quite interested, mainly because of the cast. It will wait for a TV showing, I expect.
Cheers, Pete.
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vinnieh said:
Hi Pete, great to hear from you man. If you do see it, just don’t expect vintage Woody Allen.
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Lloyd Marken said:
I don’t care, Hayley Atwell. It has Hayley Atwell. By the way, how good was Philip Glass’ s for Candyman?!
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vinnieh said:
I loved his score for Candyman, so ominous yet strangely romantic in a dark way.
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Lloyd Marken said:
That whole movie was phenomenal. Virginia Madsen, the sound effects, mood and cinematography. First rate.
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vinnieh said:
If you check my review index, you should be able to find my review of it. Would love to hear your opinion on my summation of the film.
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Lloyd Marken said:
Will check it out.
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Lloyd Marken said:
Hey Vinnie, quick question. Out of my blog posts would you say you like rants, movie reviews or hike posts the most?
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vinnieh said:
I would say the movie reviews.
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Lloyd Marken said:
Awesome, those are the ones I do the most. 🙂
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vinnieh said:
Can’t beat movie reviews.
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Lloyd Marken said:
Musical score that would be.
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vinnieh said:
I understood you.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Sorry this wasn’t for you Vinnie.
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vinnieh said:
It had so much promise and some of the acting was very good, but it all felt a bit wasted to be honest Kim.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
😕 I hope your next movie is much better!
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vinnieh said:
I’m sure it will be Kim. I can’t enjoy every movie I watch, that would bore me to death.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
So true. It’s the same for me and books.
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vinnieh said:
And I love to see how people have different opinions on the same thing.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Absolutely! Although I always feel badly if I wind up hating a book that everyone else seems to like.😕 BTW, if you have time, I posted my very first author interview! I’d love to know what you think.😊
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vinnieh said:
I’ll be certain to check it out Kim, just got a few things to do first but I promise I’ll get to it.
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ninvoid99 said:
This is one of my favorite Woody Allen films either. I felt that some of the suspense got lost early on while it wasn’t sure what it wanted to be. It’s a shame considering that it had a great cast and didn’t really do much with them. I don’t think it’s his worst but it’s nothing to cheer about either.
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vinnieh said:
He’s done a lot stronger work in other movies.
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ninvoid99 said:
Yeah, I’ll still take that over Anything Else and Curse of the Jade Scorpion. Oh, those were bad.
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vinnieh said:
I haven’t seen either but it doesn’t sound as if I’m missing much.
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Jordan Dodd said:
From what I have read here, it seems Woody is hit or miss. I still need to see one of his films, I missed out on Irrational Man. Did you see that one?
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vinnieh said:
He can be hit and miss at times, but when he really hits he is amazing. I’ve not seen Irrational Man yet.
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Jordan Dodd said:
I might check it out, I like Joaquim Phoenix
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vinnieh said:
He’s a very reliable actor so it could be worth the watch.
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emmakwall said:
EXCELLENT review Vinnie and though you’re not prizing it as one of Woody Allen’s best movies, it sounds pretty interesting even to me.
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vinnieh said:
You might very well dig this one Emma. This is just my opinion. I do find it interesting to discuss when I don’t like a movie and someone else does, it’s intriguing to hear differing viewpoints.
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abbiosbiston said:
Good lord how many movies has Woody Allen actually made. I’ve never even heard of this one!
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vinnieh said:
He sure has made a lot of movies, I’ve lost track.
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Urspo said:
But who was Cassandra? I was wondering if it was a reference to the Illiad.
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vinnieh said:
The two brothers name the boat Cassandra’s Dream after one of them wins at the dog races with a dog of the name. I do think it definitely has mythological overtones of upcoming tragedy judging by the events of the film.
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