Dreams

by Mike McGranaghan

Michel Franco’s films all have a slow-burn nature, but Dreams is slower than most. The director always has a provocative idea at the center of his work, whether it’s facing death in Sundown, economic injustice in New Order, or the question of whether victims can forgive abusers in Memory. This time around, he’s dealing with that most hot button of issues, immigration. Franco has something to say; unfortunately, he waits too long to say it.

Jennifer McCarthy (Jessica Chastain) is a socialite who works for her family’s arts foundation. She has been secretly having an affair with Fernando Rodriguez (Isaac Hernández), a young ballet dancer at a Mexican academy the foundation funds. Fernando crosses the border to be with Jennifer, which creates a significant dilemma. Although she wants to continue their passionate relationship, dating an illegal immigrant could have bad optics for the company.

It’s hard to tell what Dreams is getting at. Most of the film consists of fragmented scenes that tell us nothing about the characters’ personalities or their relationships with each other. There are far too many shots where people enter and exit buildings and get into and out of cars. A couple graphic sexcapades briefly interrupt the monotony without conveying what draws Jennifer and Fernando together - other than hot sex, obviously. It’s disconcerting to spend so much time watching a film without having any clue of what story it’s trying to tell.

At the 64-minute mark, something finally happens that sets the tone for the movie’s theme, which is “Do people who care about immigrants really care about them, or is their concern only to the degree they can get something out of it?” That leads to a final half hour that is admittedly interesting while simultaneously being a textbook case of “too little too late.” A potentially gripping dynamic between Jennifer and her father (Marshall Bell) is reduced to a single shallow exchange, as is one between her and her brother (Rupert Friend) after he discovers the relationship. This material needed to be up front so the rest of the movie could have dealt with it in a fuller capacity.

The chief pleasure in Dreams is watching Jessica Chastain who, as usual, turns in a fiercely compelling performance. She helps establish the stakes where the screenplay does not. In the process, the actress infers that Jennifer is someone whose family wealth has provided everything she’s ever wanted, and now she’s in a position where her true desire cannot be bought. Chastain keeps us guessing whether this woman will choose love or money.

It’s a shame that the rest of the film isn’t as fiery as its star.

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