In Dreams (1999)

Summary

A woman dreams a serial killer's crimes before he commits them.

Director

Neil Jordan

Downey Factor

Medium to Low.

Character

Vivian Thompson, a cross-dressing serial killer with mommy issues.

Looks

Creepy blue-eyed ginger.

Performance

He's never quite as evil or scary as he's supposed to be.

Line

All I wanted was a family. I knew there was a dreamer out there like me, 'cause I was dreaming of her. I wanted her to be my family, and I took her little girl. And the little girl cried and hollered, and I punished her like any dad would. Then she was laying quiet, beautiful, but like a doornail.

Dies, Gay or Villain

No, unclear, yes.

Cast

Annette Bening, Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn

Connection

Annette Bening in Richard III

RDJ Says

I trusted Neil Jordan's direction and I tried not to think about it too much, because I've really intellectualized roles before, and it's enough to drive you to the funny farm. I didn't want to be crazy, I wanted to play crazy ... The role was dark, he was a serial killer, but I just looked at him as someone who had a really bad childhood. He was very childish, and I could really relate to that. On that, I probably had six of the best weeks I'd had in a couple of years ... Vivian is so sad, so childlike, so misinformed. His childhood is a void and he is trying to connect with Claire to get her attention. There is a real sense of a dark destiny between them. They are similar in many ways; the difference is that what she does is right, and what he does is very wrong.

Lit Reference

Doll's Eyes by Bari Wood
The film was based on this book.

Time & Place

Present day (1999), Berkshires, Western Massachusetts

Availability

Released in theaters 15 January 1999. On DVD in Region 1, 2 and 4.

Foreign Titles

Argentina: Sueños de un Asesino (Dreams of a Killer)
Brazil: A Premonição (The Premonition)
China: Ghost Dream (English translation)
Croatia: U Snovima (Into a Weave)
Finland: Painajaisissa (Nightmares)
France: Prémonitions (Premonitions)
Germany: Jenseits der Träume (Beyond the Dreams)
Greece: Efialtikes nyhtes (Nightmarish Nights)
Japan: Forest of the Night (English translation)
Poland: Senny Koszmar (Nightmare)
Portugal: Premonição (Premonition)
Norway: Forvarselet (Advance Warning)
Romania: Crime în vis (Crime in the Dream)
Spain: Dentro de Mis Sueños (Within my Dreams)

Rotten Tomatoes

22% Fresh | 49 Reviews

Critical View

Phillip French, The Guardian: The picture starts out murky, fails to develop any sort of narrative logic, lacks the fun and energy of the Elm Street and Halloween cycles, and plunges into oblivion when Robert Downey Jr eventually turns up as the crazy killer.

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Jordan may think he's making Don't Look Now, but what he ends up with is A Nightmare on Elm Street 14 — a rock-video gothic, crowned by the image of Robert Downey Jr., as the longhaired killer, working hard to act threatening; it's not in his emotional vocabulary.

Desson Howe, The Washington Post: Robert Downey Jr. brings an extra eerie dimension to his performance born of his well-publicized struggles with addiction. But he more than admirably holds up his end of the movie's equation.

Does It Hold Up

This movie was panned when it came out and there are some things about it that didn't age well.

2 Reasons to See It

1. It's not boring and Neil Jordan is a great director.
2. He's got red hair and blue eyes.

Overall

Bad horror flick has been called a waste of talent. I agree.

If You Like It

You might also like Gothika (2003), Natural Born Killers (1994)

Photos

Video