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| Image courtesy of A24 |
The proliferation of social media has led to the rise of the 'influencer", a concept where a single person can connect with millions of people who follow their lives vicariously. As a result, many people have started to cultivate parasocial relationships with these influencers, which is a one-sided connection that the viewer has with the creator. It can closely mimic people's connection with real-life friends and family or fill emotional gaps for lonely individuals. The downside stems from the fact that these people don't know the creator personally and can create a false narrative in their head, and the only contact they have with the person is their carefully curated online presence. Dream Scenario (2023) explores the ramifications of "going viral" and the quick rise in popularity and catastrophic fall from grace that often accompanies this situation.
Nicolas Cage plays biology professor Paul Matthews, a middle-aged fellow who lives an everyday, low-key life with his wife and two kids. He discovers over the past few weeks, he has been inexplicably showing up in people's dreams. Although his dream figure doesn't actively participate in their night visions (he just stands around), his ubiquitous presence in everyone's unconscious mind gives him a newfound celebrity. At first, Paul is confused and embarrassed by all the attention, but he eventually acquiesces and tries to parlay the awareness towards a book he wants to publish. However, as the dreams transition into nightmares and public opinion on Paul sours, he has to navigate being "canceled."
All of the dreams reflect Paul’s current state of mind, and all of his anxieties stem from him worrying about how he is perceived by others. At the beginning of the movie he feels like he’s at a standstill professionally and so he’s just standing around in people’s dreams. The idea is that his anxiety is so strong that it starts transcending just his dreams and leaking into everyone else’s.
Dream Scenario starts as a quirky fantasy piece that derives much of its comedy from the contrast between Paul's schlumpy professor guise and the surreal nature of the dreams he is featured in. The dream sequences are well-realized, ultimately capturing the bizarre and nonsensical atmosphere. In the second act, the film becomes much darker and more disturbing as it follows Paul's attempt to navigate his celebrity and deal with stalkers and fetishes. Cage is dialed down and nuanced here, channeling self-depreciation and a mid-life crisis. The first act is the strongest, and as the narrative shifts to the third act, it loses sight of its thesis.
Cancel culture is a contentious subject, and although Paul is canceled in the film after doing nothing wrong, in real life, often the recipient did do something wrong. This movie can be read several different ways, and at times, it criticizes the concept of cancel culture entirely with no room for nuance. That being said, there is a tendency in online spaces to hold people to impossible standards and, depending on what they did wrong, not to accept apologies or change their behavior even years after the incident. Public perception is the only thing that matters, and the facts often are considered secondary or not at all. The film's central thesis is that going viral isn't worth it because anything that is extremely popular eventually gets backlash, whether warranted or not.
—Michelle Kisner