Dreamcatcher Review
by Karina Montgomery (karina AT cinerina DOT com)March 27th, 2003
Dreamcatcher
Rental with Snacks
As all Stephen King fans know, his stories have had a spotty reputation when translated to film. It should be noted that the most successful adaptations were also truly the most faithful (in the sense that Sense & Sensibility was faithful to the original). If you haven't read this novel, you will - not might, but WILL - be exessively disgruntled by the deus ex Hollywood ending. You should be. Having read it (and even rechecked it) was excessively irked by the bizarre twist to a very beloved character. It's more of a departure than the end of It and The Shining. So, this review is officially renouncing the "solution" to the psychological ending written in the novel.
That said, the rest of the movie is great! Seriously. Cowriters Lawrence Kasdan (Big Chill, Empire Strikes Back) and William Goldman (Misery, Princess Bride) condense lots of information and tone and mood into a deft, nerve-wracking little movie, with some boo scares, humors, creepily peaceful silences, and suspense. Yay team! It's just this well-formed work that makes the insae foolishness at the end all the more inexcusable: the end of Maximum Overdrive is just as silly as the beginning, but the disparity is too great here.
Our cast of friends (Jason Lee, Timothy Olyphant, Thomas Jane & Damian Lewis) has good chemistry, appealing presentation, and work nicely. I understand H as Henry, who looks like a sexy Aaron Eckhart without being a "pretty boy," was in Sweetest Thing, but I don't recognize Lewis (as Jonesy) - but he was in Band of Brothers. Lewis had possibly the hardest job on this movie to pull off without sucking, and I found him very effective at both not sucking and being creepy. Lee and Olyphant are the lighter characters and are predictably effective and natural, just like we like them.
Meanwhile, Morgan Freeman gets to play the kind of off-kilter madman that Tom Sizemore usually ends up playing. Added bonus: Tom Sizemore gets to play the insightful moral center that Freeman usually ends up playing. It was great fun to watch their scenes.
Back to Jonesy. One concept that actually could have made the film unfilmable is the idea of Jonesy's "memory warehouse." In writing, it reads like a metaphor rendered in tangible approximations, but on screen, the filmmakers managed to keep this important element visually effective without being confusing or hokey. I was thrilled to see such a Kingian concept handled so well. The actor, Andrew Robb, playing young Duddits/Douglas is so beatific you just want to hug him. All in all, I really enjoyed Dreamcatcher, I enjoyed that it had layers, good actors, great shots, creepy critters 9oh those weasels!), Kingesque dialogue, and overall, stayed true to the story.
Why oh why did they substitute a turd for the cherry on the sundae? See it anyway and just forgive.
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These reviews (c) 2003 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to forward but just credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks.
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