What Dreams May Come is a 1998 dramatic film, starring Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Annabella Sciorra. The film is based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Richard Matheson, and was directed by Vincent Ward. The title is taken from a line in Hamlet's To be, or not to be soliloquy.
Overview
Soulmates Chris (Williams) and Annie (Sciorra) have an idyllic marriage together. However, following death of their two children in a car accident, Annie becomes isolated and mentally unstable from guilt, and is institutionalized. After four years the couple reconciles, but on the anniversary of the event Chris is killed in a car accident, finding himself in heaven derived from his wife's paintings.
Despite the paradise he now inhabits, Chris is unhappy without Annie. When she commits suicide in guilt over Chris' death, the act consigns her to Hell. Adamant that they belong together, Chris commences a quest through hell to rescue her, in the process discovering a number of characters from his past.
Cast
Plot summary
After meeting in Switzerland, Chris Nielsen and Annie Collins marry, having two children: Ian (Josh Paddock) and Marie (Jessica Brooks Grant).
Years later, after Ian and Marie are killed in a car accident, Annie becomes mentally unstable and attempts suicide. She is institutionalized, and although the couple nearly divorce as a result, she eventually recovers. However, on the anniversary of the day the couple decided not to divorce (which they call their "Double-D" anniversary) Chris is involved in a car accident, dying a short time later.
Chris awakens in the afterlife, adjusting to his new environment with the guidance of a man named Albert (Cuba Gooding Jr.), whom Chris believes to be his friend and mentor from his medical residency. Both are surprised when a Blue Jacaranda tree appears in Chris's personal section of Heaven, which matches a tree in a new painting of Annie's. Albert indicates the couple are soul mates, receptive to each other's thoughts even after death.
Later, Chris meets a woman named Leona who shows him a children's realm in heaven. Chris recognizes her as Marie, after realizing the location is a diorama she loved in life, and Leona explaining that she took the form of a stewardess because her father once admired a beautiful stewardess.
In parallel to this, Annie, distraught at the loss of her family, takes poison and dies. Albert breaks the news to Chris, whose initial relief that her suffering is over quickly turns to anger when he learns that suicides are sent to hell. Albert claims no judgment has been made against her; it is simply the nature of suicides. This is a reference to Dante's Inferno, where the seventh level of Hell is reserved for sins of violence — including violence against oneself.
Chris is adamant that he will rescue Annie from Hell, despite Albert's insistence that no one has ever succeeded in doing so. Chris is undaunted, and Albert eventually agrees to find Chris a "Tracker" to help find Annie's soul.
Journeying to Hell and encountering hundreds of damned souls (one of which is a cameo by German director Werner Herzog) Chris finds himself recalling memories of his son, Ian. Chris had been disappointed with Ian's underachievement but eventually, after an earnest conversation, told him "if I was going through fucking hell, I'd only want one person in the whole goddamn world by my side." Seeing Albert about to confront a violent group of damned, Chris realizes Albert is actually Ian. Ian explains that he chose to appear as Albert because he was the only person Chris would ever listen to. Ian returns to Heaven, while Chris and the Tracker continue the search.
Arriving at what the Tracker calls their "private deck", Chris finds a field full of the faces of the damned (a further reference to Dante's Inferno). Chris sees Annie's face but as he runs towards her, the ground gives way and he falls into a vast, upturned cathedral. Chris recognizes his and Annie's house at the bottom. The Tracker warns Chris that if he stays with Annie for more than a few minutes, he may become permanently trapped too. The Tracker then reveals that he is Albert, who has been waiting for many years to do Chris a favor.
Chris enters the house to find Annie pale and withdrawn. Chris is unable to make Annie recognize him and decides to "give up," and join Annie forever, even if she will never know who he is. This is the antithesis of his behavior when Annie was institutionalized (which was to ask for a divorce, since he was unable to join in her grief for their children), and enables Annie to recognize Chris and allows the two to escape to heaven.
Chris and Annie are reunited with their children, but Chris suggests being reincarnated, so the pair can experience meeting and falling in love again. The film ends with Chris and Annie meeting as young children, in a rough parallel of their original meeting. The last line is a repetition of the opening line by Chris: "When I was young, I met this beautiful girl by a lake."
Alternate Ending
The special edition DVD shows an alternate ending — which is the ending from the novel — in which the reincarnation is not a choice, but part of the natural order. Chris and Annie will meet again in their new lives, but Annie must atone for killing herself — her new incarnation will die young, and Chris will spend the remainder of his new life as a widower before the two are once again reunited in Heaven. The film then goes to Sri Lanka where a woman is giving birth to a little girl, presumed to be Annie. In Philadelphia, a little boy is born, presumably Chris. This ending was left roughly edited and unfinished.
Differences from the novel
The novel has significant differences from the film, in both its plot and its vision of the afterlife. Its approach to the love story is considerably less sentimental, its tone more scientific than fantastic.
There are far more references to Theosophical, New Age and paranormal beliefs. Indeed, the author Richard Matheson claims in an introductory note that only the characters are fictional, and that almost everything else is based on research (the book contains an extensive bibliography). Story elements that do not show up in the film include astral projection, telepathy, a séance, and the term "Summerland" (the name for a simplified Heaven in Theosophy, and for Heaven in general in earth-based religions such as Wicca).
The details of Chris's life on Earth also differ strongly in the novel. Only Chris and his wife (called Ann) die. Their children, who are grownups rather than youngsters, remain alive, as minor characters. Albert and Leona are exactly the people they appear to be, and the character played by Max Von Sydow does not appear in the book at all. Albert is Chris's cousin and not African American as in the film, while Leona's ethnicity is not divulged. Chris and Ann are rural, country types rather than the urbanites portrayed in the film, and he is not a pediatrician, nor is she a painter. He's a Hollywood screenwriter, and she has a variety of jobs.
The afterlife imagery is based on natural scenery rather than paintings. The Heavenly environment doesn't automatically mold itself to people's thoughts, as it does in the film; some practice and expertise is required to build things. The novel's depiction of Hell is considerably more violent than in the film. Chris finds it difficult to move, breathe, or even see, and he suffers physical torture at the hands of some of the inhabitants. He does not encounter ships, thunderstorms, fire, or the sea of human faces that he must walk upon in the film. Instead, he and Albert climb across craggy cliffs and encounter such sights as a swarm of insects that attack people's bodies.
Ann is consigned to Hell for only 24 years, not eternity. At the end, which resembles an alternate version of the film but not the standard version, she escapes from Hell by being reincarnated, because she is not ready for Heaven.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for What Dreams May Come was composed and conducted by Michael Kamen. Ennio Morricone completed and recorded a full score for the film. After editorial changes were made, his score was rejected, and Kamen was hired to do the film score.[1] Dawn Soler, the musical supervisor for the film, has said in an interview that Axl Rose intended to have the then-unreleased Guns N' Roses song "This I Love" in this movie, but Ward did not use the song. It was later added to the band's album Chinese Democracy.
Reception
The movie grossed $55 Million in North America but flopped elsewhere only earning $16 million worldwide earning $71 million on a budget of $85 Million.[2] The film won an Academy Award for its visual effects. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction, and won the Art Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design. Critical reaction to What Dreams May Come has been mixed, with the film earning a score of 54% on Rotten Tomatoes.[3]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave a highly positive review, awarding the film three and a half stars out of four, remarking: "I have my disappointments with it. But I would not want them to discourage you from seeing it, because this is a film that even in its imperfect form shows how movies can imagine the unknown, can lead our imaginations into wonderful places. And it contains heartbreakingly effective performances by Robin Williams and Annabella Sciorra."[4] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave What Dreams May Come three stars out of four, saying, "Many movies have offered representations of heaven and hell, but few with as much conviction and creativity as What Dreams May Come. The plot, which focuses on the sacrifices one man will make for true love, is neither complicated nor original, but, bolstered by the director's incredible visual sense, it becomes an affecting piece of drama."[5]
Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post disliked the film, which he felt was "overproduced and underpopulated, with either characters or ideas" and "lacks ... drama."[6] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C+ rating, saying that "if the film's morose sentimentality sidesteps ludicrousness, it's also not very dramatic. We feel as if we're stuck inside a two-hour dream sequence. There's a central contradiction in a fairy tale like this one: the film may preach to the audience about matters of the spirit, but its bejeweled special-effects vision of the afterlife can't help but come off as aggressively literal-minded."[7]
When asked his thoughts on the film, Richard Matheson said, "I will not comment on What Dreams May Come except to say that a major producer in Hollywood said to me, 'They should have shot your book.' Amen."[8]
Trivia
- It is one of the few movies to be shot largely on Fuji Velvia film, known among landscape photographers for its vivid color reproduction.[9]
- Annette Bening was originally cast to play Annie, but extracted herself from the role in advance of production.[11]
- The original prints of the film were lost to a fire at Universal Studios' backlot on June 1, 2008. A worldwide search was launched for a copy, which was subsequently found in Europe.[12]
References
- ^ http://users.telenet.be/soundtrack-fm/Reviews/Ennio_Morricone/what_dreams/what_dreams.htm
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120889/business
- ^ What Dreams May Come reviews at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ What Dreams May Come review by Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, October 2, 1998
- ^ What Dreams May Come review by James Berardinelli, ReelViews.net, 1998
- ^ What Dreams May Come review by Stephen Hunter, Washington Post, October 2, 1998
- ^ What Dreams May Come review by Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, Oct 09, 1998
- ^ Richard Matheson interview at The I Am Legend Archive
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120889/trivia
- ^ http://articles.latimes.com/2006/may/10/nation/na-oriskany10
- ^ http://www.aintitcool.com/node/1961
- ^ http://thestudiotour.com/ush/index.shtml
External links
