many people will not find much to like in what dreams may come , the new film by visionary director vincent ward .
most will come to see the computer animated landscapes and vibrant colors .
but little do they know ( as i so plainly found out ) that this has quite a complex story to tell .
walking out of the theater , i could see the audience 's disgust . . .
one member even had to be awakened after the film ended .
do n't believe the previews that you see .
. .
this is definitely not a film for everyone .
this is quite possibly one of the most adult - oriented films to come out in recent years .
kids will get bored with the slow plotting and the complex storyline .
the plot is just as fluid as the heaven that ward presents to us .
it goes back and forth in time , as if it has no boundaries .
think of the film city of angels .
now add a more complex screenplay and a more unique vision .
both films deal with the afterlife , but i doubt what dreams may come will do well at the box office .
costing around $ 85 million to make , the film would have to do extremely well in order to make it 's money back .
but due to it 's story , i doubt it will .
for everyone who thought titanic 's story was too simple and cliche , here is proof that if james cameron had written a more complex screenplay , it may not have done nearly as well .
but do n't get me wrong .
. .
i hope the film does do well .
it 's a vision of pure visceral enjoyment that hardly ever gets put to the screen .
i doubt most of us could have thought of this place , even in our own mind .
what dreams may come is the second best film of the year when it comes to visuals .
the only film that surpasses it is dark city .
full of rich , shocking colors
, we get to see a heaven that most of us would probably die to get to .
but do n't do that , because you 'll end up going to hell .
what dreams may come begins with two boats colliding on a lake .
chris " christy " nielsen ( robin williams ) is startled by the sudden jolt , but is even more startled by the beauty of the woman in the other boat .
annie ( annabella sciorra )
spies chris , as well , and both eventually bond and get married .
annie is an artist , whose paintings are colorful , lush , and surrealistic .
chris is a doctor and loves annie more than life itself .
they also have two children , marie ( jessica brooks ) and ian ( josh paddock ) .
but one day , the two children are killed in a car crash , and it almost destroys annie .
she tries to commit suicide , but fails , and is then put in an institution .
chris copes with the problem by realizing they are n't around anymore , and nothing will change that .
just as annie gets her life back in order , chris is killed while trying to save the life of a car crash victim .
chris goes to heaven , or his version of heaven , rather .
guided by albert ( cuba gooding , jr . ) , chris explores his new surroundings with pure delight and joy .
that is , until he realizes how miserable he is without annie .
prior to heaven , he would try to comfort annie , but the more he was around , the more pain she felt .
chris decides to leave her alone .
little does he realize what will happen next .
i 'm not about to say , because the plot point is crucial to the rest of the story ( many critics , however , give it away ) .
certainly , chris dying is crucial to the plot , but they tell you that he dies in the previews .
story is not necessarily important for this movie to work , because it deals with the afterlife .
however , strangely , virtually nothing is heard of god or the devil .
a couple of comments here and there , but the story maintains its focus on chris and his search for the love of his life .
"
we 're soul mates !
"
chris exclaims .
heaven , in movies , is almost always depicted as a glowing city of white , purity , and love .
usually , it also looks like it rests among the clouds .
but what dreams may come goes a different route .
it shows us a heaven that most of us have never seen before .
chris ' heaven is his memories brought to life .
his thoughts can make anything real , and he makes the paintings annie drew become his heaven .
"
i 've never seen anyone use real paint before , " albert says .
equally good as the depictions of hell which cast away the normal stereotypes of fire and brimstone .
instead , it 's a state of being .
in one gloriously horrific scene , chris and his " tracker " ( max von sydow ) arrive at a sea of faces .
thousands of heads are stuck above ground , their bodies somewhere else .
mostly dead silent , some quips are made , almost as if to lighten the mood .
it 's truly a frightening sequence .
production designer eugenio zanetti is definitely going to be up for an oscar nomination .
using state of the art computer technology , worlds are created for exploration .
sometimes , some scenes play out as if they are only there for the visual impact .
it 's not necessary to be there , but we appreciate seeing it .
costume designer yvonne blake ( who also appears in the film ) has done an incredible job providing some interesting and colorful costumes .
cinematographer eduardo serra , whose work was last seen in the luscious wings of the dove , has a difficult job , as most cinematographers do working with special effects .
but serra 's entire universe is a computer generated image , and he does a masterful job .
writer ron bass , adapting from the novel by richard matheson , provides a very fluid screenplay with no real set plot .
the story is extremely vague in its details , allowing viewers to think for themselves about the meaning .
and director vincent ward
puts it all together into his final vision .
what dreams may come is a good example of german expressionism which may just turn off a good portion of the audience .
your average movie goer more than likely is n't used to expressionistic techniques .
the film will also definitely draw attention from religious people , but they should n't take it too far .
it is , after all , just a movie .
robin williams has continuously impressed with his dramatic performances , while his comedic roles have been suffering .
his comedy is perfection when he makes up his own stuff , but when is confined by a screenplay , he is n't quite as effective .
but drama is really his strong point , and you can see that here .
it 's doubtful he 'll get another oscar nomination , but i would n't really mind if he did .
the real surprise here is annabella sciorra who impressed last year with cop land .
this may be her breakout role and may garner her some much needed attention .
it 's also quite possible that she could get an oscar nomination
.
however , the academy does n't like to award performances for these types of films .
cuba gooding , jr . has been better , but he 's certainly not distracting .
max von sydow is underused , as are jessica brooks and josh paddock .
a treat for some movie goers is to see werner herzog appear ( if they even recognize him ) as chris ' father lost in the sea of faces .
it 's not hard to see why herzog would be attracted to this film , considering he thinks that audiences are starving for great images .
overall , it 's williams and sciorra 's film .
what dreams may come is rated pg-13 for thematic elements involving death , some disturbing images , language , and some partial nudity .
the film is definitely aimed at a more adult audience .
some will find the plot distracting .
some will find the visuals absolutely glorious .
and some will find both .
the only real problem with the film , that i could see , was that it slows down considerably during the midsection , just after we have been immersed in the visuals and before the search for annie begins .
by the way , some controversy even surrounded the title , which was mistaken for a sexual term ( " what " becomes " wet " and you should understand ) .
in actuality , the title is from a soliloquy in hamlet .
just thought i should let you know .
Output: P