Dreams, 2025.
Written and directed by Michel Franco.
Starring Jessica Chastain, Isaac Hernández, Rupert Friend, Marshall Bell, Eligio Meléndez, and Mercedes Hernández.
SYNOPSIS:
Romance blossoms between a wealthy socialite and a Mexican ballet dancer, intertwining their contrasting lives and cultures.
Following 2023’s excellent Memory, Mexican writer-director Michel Franco’s second collaboration with Jessica Chastain is a far more cynical affair, focused on the selfish desires of the wealthy elite and the hypocritical liberalism they often hide behind.
Chastain plays Jennifer, a wealthy philanthropist living in San Francisco, who spends her time and money supporting her family’s arts foundation. This includes her ballet school in Mexico City, where she’s begun a relationship with talented dancer Fernando (Isaac Hernández) – a relationship which she tactfully keeps secret from her brother Jake (Rupert Friend) and, most importantly, her father Michael (Marshall Bell), the source of her funds and elite lifestyle.
Dreams opens in dramatic fashion – the sound of screams emanating from a lorry filled with migrants crossing the border – as we witness Fernando make the journey to San Francisco with nothing more than the clothes he’s wearing. He makes his way to Jennifer’s house, lets himself in, and they instantly make love. It’s a strong and intriguing opening, but the film never really takes off after that.
Whereas Fernando has expectations of an open relationship in the US, it quickly becomes clear that Jennifer would’ve much rather he stayed in Mexico. She’s very aware of how such a relationship could affect her image, and is more interested in Fernando as a hunky secret for her to visit in Mexico and have her way with. His presence in San Francisco takes away her control of the situation, as she continues to juggle her sexual desires with the need to protect her public image.
The film’s simple narrative addresses a great many hot-button issues in today’s society, most notably the subject of US-Mexican relations regarding immigration and border security. It dares to ask whether it’s even worth Fernando crossing the border at all; is a better future in the US a guarantee? Is the promise of the American Dream really all it’s cracked up to be?
The story tackles the class war, controversial sexual age gaps, and shifting power dynamics, as both Jennifer and Fernando find themselves in various states of control, each capable of behaving cruelly when the moment strikes. It’s a social critique that’s tackling far too much, and it never truly comes together in any meaningful way.
In part, this is because Dreams is about as subtle as a sledgehammer; its themes devoid of any nuance and its politics over-simplified. There’s also an air of over-familiarity with the central narrative, this hardly being the first story about a rich woman who falls in love with a lower-class man to the disapproval of her family.
Franco’s typically authentic and held-back style, with no cinematic embellishments or original score at all, does the film no favours here. It all just feels cold and inhuman. Moreover, Jennifer and Fernando are both very unlikeable characters who it’s difficult to invest in, and the complete lack of chemistry between Chastain and newcomer Hernández (both of whom still deliver excellent individual performances) does little to help matters. The over-the-top, explicit sex scenes are awkward and unnecessary, and can’t mask the complete lack of feeling that this film seems to have towards its own subjects.
The film’s final 15 minutes are where it all really starts to fall apart. After an admittedly shocking plot development, the film takes a bizarre turn so suddenly that it could just give its audience whiplash – a contrivance designed to shock, but not one that fits as neatly into the film’s themes as Franco clearly thinks it does. It’s a controversial conclusion that will undoubtedly have its defenders, but will likely leave many viewers baffled.
Dreams isn’t without its merits. Chastain is exceptional as always, Hernández looks to be a top talent, Rupert Friend is scene-stealing as Jake, and that opening sequence is genuinely gripping. But this is mostly a very cold and unfeeling film, as unlikeable as its characters, and nowhere near as clever and insightful as it believes itself to be.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★
Dan Barnes
