Dreamland (2005)

18-year-old Audrey (Agnes Bruckner) lives with her father (John Corbett) in a remote community in the breathtakingly beautiful New Mexico desert. Though Audrey longs to go to college she spends her days taking care of her father who hasn't left home since Audrey's mother died and her best friend Calista (Kelli Garner) who dreams of becoming Miss America but is struggling with a life-challenging illness.System Requirements:Run Time: 90 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 043396170261 Manufacturer No: 17026 Product Description

An outstanding, unknown, psychological movie.

I saw part of this movie on the Lifetime Movie Network,
and decided to purchase it, so as to watch it beginning
to end.

The basic premise of the story revolves around two friends
who live in a trailer park in a very desolate town. One of
the girls is dying. Their friendship is challenged by the
needs of an agoraphobic father, and the arrival of a new
family, whose son attracts both friends at once.

The movie very subtly and masterfully addresses the issues
of potential betrayal of friendship, the intense fear of
having to face death, lonliness and internal feelings of
desolation, and facing leaving one's home and one's comfort
zone. Moreover, a very rich story is told, with only eight
or so characters of note in the entire story.

Very well done and very captivating.
February 6, 2008

a somewhat morose film of a trailer park life

*Dreamland* tries to paint a sterotypical life at an isolated trailer park, without the Jerry Springer drama. Life and time goes by slowly, with almost nothing to do.

Audrey, a poetress, has just graduated from high school. She stashes acceptance letters from colleges in a hat box. The reason for this is because she feels obligated to care for her widowed father, who does nothing but drink and smoke, and her best friend, Calista, who is afflicted with MS and dreams of being Miss America.

A new untraditional family moves in next door, which includes a young guy whom Audrey and Calista deems hot. (To me, eww!) Audrey, thinking the best for Calista, sets up her best friend with the new guy, Mookie. However, upon their first date, Audrey seems to regret doing this.

Of course, things go wrong when Audrey and Mookie admit their feelings to each other. Worse, Calista finds out about it. Angry, Calista takes off in search for Mookie who has just left for college. However, things don't go the way they're supposed to.

So, *Dreamland* is about dreams put to the test, whether that be love, a career or new changes. Do you drop everything around you and pursue your dreams or do you put your dreams on hold and take care of everything around you? That is the question.

Overall, I did enjoy this movie. However, I found it a bit slow and a bit depressing for me. July 9, 2007

Awesome little sleeper

I loved this movie. It was different, very well acted & directed, and I must admit had some nice shirtless scenes to boot. June 20, 2007

There's a fine line between losing it and getting it

This is an odd sort of film - simplistic yet profound, sad yet somehow uplifting. There's a slight edge of surreality to the whole story, but the characters couldn't be more human. Basically, Dreamland left me feeling a bit odd and slightly out of sorts, but in a good way. It's as if I expected some kind of enlightenment to break through the clouds in the final moments, and the fact that this didn't happen strikes me as somehow profound.

You might recognize the lead actress from the film The Woods, but I've been a fan of Agnes Bruckner ever since I saw her in Rick (another indie film that deserves much more attention than it has received). It's true that I have a thing for redheads, but this young lady can act, and she has the kind of magical persona that only the greatest actresses are born with. Watching her in Dreamland, I saw some real similarities with Angelina Jolie in her facial expressions and the sheer power of her presence. It's an all-too-rare treat to see a great actress at work, and I can only hope that Agnes Bruckner gets the kinds of roles she deserves in the years ahead - she's really something special. Not to be outdone, however, is Kelli Garner, who turns in an impassioned, subtly exquisite performance as Calista, an ethereal beauty who dreams of becoming Miss America even as she lives with the knowledge and fear of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Dreamland, it turns out, is a trailer park out in the middle of the desert. The small number of inhabitants make up a surprisingly strong community, but the deepest bond is between Audrey (Bruckner) and Calista (Garner). It's a really confusing time for Audrey, who has just graduated from high school. Not only does she have her best friend to worry about, she also has to help take care of her father. Henry (played brilliantly by John Corbett) has never gotten over his wife's death. Not only does he spend most of his time drinking, he has not been able to leave the trailer park in over two years. He's emotionally and psychologically unable to take even a few steps outside Dreamland. Audrey is a smart girl who secretly wants to go to college, but she puts her own dreams aside, believing that her father and Calista need her to stay.

Audrey really begins to unravel, though, following the arrival of new neighbors - specifically, Mookie (Justin Long). True friend that she is, she sets Mookie up with Calista, then finds herself tormented by her own love for the guy. Obviously, Audrey's friendship with Calista will be tested by this unfortunate love triangle, setting in motion a series of events that ultimately change the lives of all the main characters.

As an aside, I have to ask why so many of today's young actors (e.g., Justin Long) look like junior versions of David Schwimmer. Isn't one David Schwimmer more than enough for all of us? And Mookie? Unless your character plays centerfield for the New York Mets, why would you call him Mookie? Obviously, I'm no Justin Long fan, but Dreamland really isn't about him, anyway. It's about friendship, love, sacrifice, hopes and dreams, and all of the other things that make us human - and it's truly a wonderful little story. Hollywood doesn't make nearly enough films like this. April 24, 2007

Almost a Masterpiece

"Dreamland" is one of those movies that come out every year and stay completely below the radar and maintain only the smallest of audiences. It was one of those movies I saw the trailer for and just thought "I have to see that movie." It, in the end, falls short in many areas and isn't a masterpiece; But it's got some powerhouse performances and a great look and mood to it. Agnes Brucker, a talented actress who appeared in "The Woods," plays Audrey, an aspiring poet, who lives in a trailer park deep in New Mexico called Dreamland. Audrey lives with her dad Henry (John Corbett); a man who lives in an alcohol induced haze and likes to reminisce about his long-dead wife. Audrey's best friend is Calista (Kelli Garner, 'Thumbsucker'), a girl recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis who one day dreams of winning Miss America. Their lives are long and empty. Audrey works at a convenience store and has sex with her co-worker, then she goes home and writes poetry, or hangs out with Calista. Then a new family moves in; Mom, Mary (Gina Gershon), boyfriend Herb (Chris Mulkey), and son Mookie (Justin Long), who the girls instantly take a liking too. When Calista and Mookie start dating, Audrey (whose life is all about supporting the people around her) finds jealousy consuming her. Eventually, Mookie and Audrey find themselves falling for each other and so on...The movie comes very close to becoming a masterpiece. It's got all the elements; great acting, great cinematography, great art direction, and great dialogue. It's the script (by Tom Willett) that just stops it from entering the realm of masterpiece. The film tends to drag in some spots, but is overall entertaining. I have to give Willett credit for writing a movie about people who live in a trailer park and not turning them into stereotypes. Nobody's fat, nobody's pregnant, nobody's missing any teeth, and even the alcoholic dad isn't abusive in any way. Corbett (who recently took a break from acting to pursue a career in country music) shows that he's got real acting chops that have yet to be fully seen with films like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and stints on the series "Sex & the City." The biggest surprise to me was Justin Long, an actor who normally dapples in comedies (Dodgeball, Accepted, etc.). The only dramatic role I've seen him in was in a horror movie called "Jeepers Creepers" but he gives a good, solid performance in "Dreamland." Bruckner and Garner are two actresses that have careers in front of them. They're not beautiful, but they both can act and even some dialogue that doesn't quite work sounds good coming from them. "Dreamland" is, overall, a minor masterpiece that is still a wonder of a debut film (the director, Jason Matzner, has the potential to be a very good filmmaker) and I recommend you see it if you enjoyed movies ranging from "Me and You and Everyone We Know" to "Thirteen."

GRADE: B March 19, 2007

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