Álmok otthona

Jim Sheridan-nak igent mondani egy csúcsszínész számára is természetes. De ezúttal melléléptek. Az Álmok otthona dramaturgiailag annyira törött és ellentmondásos, hogy nehéz eldönteni, hogy ez inkább a forgatókönyv vagy a rendezés hibája. De valószínűleg mindkettő. A film két ideológiailag összeegyeztethetetlen témát ötvöz, amelyek mindegyike teljesen más filmkészítési megközelítést igényel. Érdekes pszichológiai schizo-játék a nézővel, Scorsese Viharsziget filmje alapján, a forgatókönyv egy lapjának ellapozásával egy maximálisan diszfunkcionális és nem kívánt fordulattal unalmas, vidéki Amerikában játszódó gyilkossági thrillerré változik. Ráadásul a film e két arcát egy kérdéses (nem)kísérteties vonal köti össze, ami még jobban kiemeli összeférhetetlenségüket, és maga is nevetségesebbé válik, mint amilyen akart lenni, vagyis romantikusan-melankolikus. Hogy mit is akartak a filmkészítők, azt az így keletkezett édes-savanyú keverékből nagyjából ki lehet következtetni, de ennél rosszabbul nem is állhattak volna hozzá. Egyébként egy izzadt, nyúzott, zsíros frizurájú Daniel Craig remek Hannibal Lecter lenne. (2011.10.06)

Dream House looks like an adaptation of a book that could have easily (in a weekend) been written by Stephen King. The protagonist is about to write a novel, he, his wife and children find a new house, but their garden is haunted at night, the house has a mysterious past, the neighbors, who might know something about it, are stubbornly silent... And the atmosphere gets thicker and thicker. So now is when the (potential) audience splits into "Sounds good, I want to see it", "I don't care and don't want to see it" and "It'll be crap, but I have to see it so I can bitch about it later". I'm very glad I ended up in the first group (and I'm sure the aforementioned "kingliness" is to blame - I bet the screenwriter is a big fan of the master too). Those expecting a bloody horror film full of ghosts will be disappointed, but Dream House is a very good drama with a suspenseful plot. If you enjoy the opening 40 minutes or so, I think you'll devour the rest of the film after the twist that comes halfway through. The acting is superb and Daniel Craig's performance is a joy to watch, the fabulously chilling music of John Debney plays in the background, and director Sheridan literally creates the perfect atmosphere and clearly knows what the word gradation means. On the one hand I'm sorry that Dream House is so poorly rated, but on the other hand I'm glad that I enjoyed it so much.__P.S. Avoid the full trailer.__P.P.S. And if you listen to the soundtrack before the film, avoid the song titles for good measure. (2012.02.02)

Wow! This was painful disappointment. A very promising line up featuring Jim Sheridan as director, with Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts in the main roles, but a terrible product that doesn’t work at all. The moment you start thinking a little about it, you realise that it doesn’t make any sense. And yet, the premise is not pointless, it just needs a completely different approach. (2011.12.16)

Oh dear, so many familiar names and such a lackluster outcome... First of all, this was hardly a horror film because the creators tried to scare me with jump scares that would only work on kids at a summer camp. Honestly, I can't even pin down the genre of this movie; to me, it felt like a mishmash of everything the creators had ever seen on screen, and it didn't quite gel. I don't have the highest opinion of Canadian cinema (with some exceptions), and this movie certainly didn't improve my view. / Lesson learned: When you're about to get in bed with someone, check their pulse first. (2022.05.10)