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 . 
don'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 don'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 don'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 aren'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 isn't used to expressionistic techniques . 
the film will also definitely draw attention from religious people , but they shouldn'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 isn'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 wouldn'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 doesn'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 .