Cassandra's Dream

Infobox Film
name = Cassandra's Dream


caption = Theatrical release poster
imdb_id = 0795493
producer = Letty Aronson
Stephen Tenenbaum
Gareth Wiley
director = Woody Allen
writer = Woody Allen
starring = Hayley Atwell
Colin Farrell
Sally Hawkins
Ewan McGregor
Tom Wilkinson
music = Philip Glass
cinematography = Vilmos Zsigmond
editing = Alisa Lepselter
distributor = The Weinstein Company (USA)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (worldwide)
Optimum Releasing (UK)
released = 26 October 2007 (Spain)
31 October 2007 (France)
18 January 2008 (USA)
9 May 2008 (UK)
runtime = 110 minutes
language = English
amg_id = 1:353472
budget = $15 Million

"Cassandra's Dream" (2007) is a suspense film directed by Woody Allen in the UK, starring Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell. It was released in 2007 in Europe and in January 2008 in the U.S.

The film was premiered in secret at Avilés, Spain on June 18, 2007. [ [http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=961802007 Scotsman June 20, 2007] Spanish town beats Venice to Woody Allen premiere] It was officially premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2007 and was already in theaters in Spain by November 3, 2007. [ [http://imdb.com/title/tt0795493/releaseinfo Cassandra's Dream (2007) - Release dates ] ] The film had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2007. [ [http://www.tiff07.ca/industry/filmsandschedules/filmdetails.aspx?id=705151612311292 TIFF '07 - Films & Schedules Cassandra's Dream ] ]

Cast (in order of appearance)

*Ewan McGregor - Ian
*Colin Farrell - Terry
*Peter-Hugo Daly - Boat Owner
*John Benfield - Father
*Clare Higgins - Mother
*Ashley Madekwe - Lucy
*Andrew Howard - Jerry
*Hayley Atwell - Angela Stark
*Sally Hawkins - Kate
*Keith Smee - Terry's Track Mate
*Stephen Noonan - Mel
*Dan Carter - Fred
*Richard Lintern - Director
*Jennifer Higham - Helen
*Lee Whitlock - Mike
*Michael Harm - Estate Agent
*Hugh Rathbone, Allan Ramsey, Paul Marc Davis, Terry Budin-Jones, Franck Viano, Tommy Mack - Poker Players
*Milo Bodrozic - Milo Bodrozic
*Emily Gilchrist - Emily Gilchrist
*Tom Wilkinson - Howard
*Phil Davis - Martin Burns
*George Richmond - George Richmond
*Phyllis Roberts - Burns' Mother
*Tamzin Outhwaite - Burns' Date
*Cate Fowler - Angela's Mom
*David Horovitch - Angela's Dad
*Matt Barlock - Jaguar Owner
*Jim Carter - Garage Boss
*Tom Fisher - Nigel
*Paul Gardner - Bentley Salesman
*Mark Umbers - Eisley
*Maggie McCarthy - Servant
*Richard Graham, Ross Boatman - Detectives

Plot

The film involves British brothers Terry (Farrell) and Ian (McGregor), who live in South London. They were raised by a weak father (John Benfield) who runs a restaurant, and a strong mother (Clare Higgins) who taught her sons to look up to their uncle Howard (Tom Wilkinson), a successful businessman.

Both brothers decide to buy a sailboat which they name "Cassandra's Dream", after the dog that won the race in which Terry earned the money to buy the boat. (Knowing nothing of Greek Mythology, the brothers never heard of the ancient prophetess Cassandra who made true prophecies of doom to which no one listened; however, the film director Woody Allen was clearly fully aware of these implications).

After a day sailing with their current girlfriends and while driving back home in a borrowed Jaguar, Ian crosses paths with beautiful actress Angela Stark (Hayley Atwell), with whom he falls in love.

The brothers' financial difficulties — Terry has a gambling problem, while Ian wishes to invest in hotels in California — lead them to think about asking for Howard's help. Uncle Howard supposedly comes to London to celebrate his sister's birthday, but when the two brothers ask for his financial help, he reveals a more sinister motive. He admits that he is about to go to jail due to accusations coming from Martin Burns, a business partner who plans to testify against him, and asks his two nephews if they can help to get rid of him.

After initial reluctance, the two brothers agree. They make two working wooden guns, allowing them to burn them afterwards. In an initial attempt they wait in Burns' home; unexpectedly he is accompanied by a woman. Panicked, they leave and agree to commit the murder the next day.

In the next attempt they succeed in carrying out the murder uncaught, and burn the guns. Ian is content to move on as if nothing happened, but Terry is consumed by guilt and begins abusing alcohol and pills. This frightens his girlfriend (Sally Hawkins), who meets Ian to tell him about the situation, mentioning to him that Terry believes he has killed someone. Terry's behavior begins to get out of control, thus terrifying Ian. After Terry confides to his brother that he's thinking about turning himself in to the police, Ian goes to Howard for advice. Together, they agree there is no other alternative but to get rid of Terry. Ian then plans to poison Terry during a trip on the boat. In the end, however, Ian can't bring himself to kill Terry. In a fit of rage, they tussle aboard the boat. In the chaos, Terry knocks Ian against the hull and kills him. Terry, who was already suicidal, snaps and drowns himself.

oundtrack

The original score was composed by Philip Glass. This is the first Woody Allen film released with a stereo soundtrack. Allen previously eschewed stereo although often employing Dolby Stereo and Dolby Digital technologies to convey a higher quality mono soundtrack.Fact|date=February 2008 The film is stereo for its music only.

Critical reception

The film received generally mixed reviews from critics. As of April 24, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film received 51 percent positive reviews, based on 82 reviews. [cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cassandras_dream/ |title=Cassandra's Dream - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=2008-01-21 |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 49 out of 100, based on 31 reviews. [cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/cassandrasdream |title=Cassandra's Dream (2007): Reviews |accessdate=2008-01-21 |publisher=Metacritic]

Damon Wise of "Empire" magazine concluded that "Cassandra's Dream" was "A clumsy, clichéd morality play that may actually represent the lowest point of Allen’s recently chequered career."

Also Paul Jordan compared the film to a morality play - but considered that a praise: "Allen gets past the guard of a modern audience which would not have taken seriously the appearance of a Mephistopheles or an Old Scratch. Uncle Howard is a chilling 21st Century Tempter, fulfilling the heart's desire in return for murder and leading his nephews to terrible perdition"(Paul Jordan, "Persistent Myths", p. 17).

Murder films

In "Cassandra's Dream", as in "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (1989) and "Match Point" (2005), Allen essentially sets out to explore the way an apparently ordinary person might end up becoming a murderer.

The three films share a basic common structure. In all of them, the first part sets out the daily life of the protagonist(s), which seems at first glance quite ordinary and similar to that of many others - but imperceptively, a dilemma appears out of which the only solution seems to be to commit a murder (in all three films, the essential motive is to preserve or achieve a prestigious social position). The middle part is devoted to prolonged preparations, culminating with the murder itself, while the last part depicts the aftermath.

The present film is, however, different from its predecessors in that the protagonists, though successfully evading discovery by the police, nevertheless meet a terrible retribution.

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0795493|title=Cassandra's Dream
*rotten-tomatoes|id=cassandras_dream|title=Cassandra's Dream
*metacritic film|id=cassandrasdream|title=Cassandra's Dream
*mojo title|id=CassandrasDream|title=Cassandra's Dream
*amg movie|id=1:353472|title=Cassandra's Dream
* [http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=32045 DVD Talk discusses Woody Allen's dark side]
* [http://goodsmallfilms.blogspot.com Good Small Films] (Unofficial Woodypedia and blog)