WATCH NOW
As always, everything he craved is present in her. Consequently, she is everything he should seem afraid of in today’s American films. At a gallery opening, he manages to spill wine on her and she angrily overreacts. A week later in a supermarket, however, she meets him and the two share an apology. At this point, he is already fascinated.
One of those relationships that are formed at the café has an ending where in-depth discussions happen hours later and inquisitions on the unfathomable set in.
Along with passion, there is some for sure. After all, he doesn’t have her number, so he proceeds to stake out her loft. He questions who she really is while waiting for her to arrive home. During the next meeting, she stays calm, but he does not, and proceeds to confront her. He learns that she is doing her best to keep him at bay as well because she finds herself really enjoying his presence. Easily, a man is able to forgive such faults.
“Dream Lover” by Nicholas Kazan shows the hardships of love, and almost every new movie coming out tries to depict this, similar to Kazan’s film. The moral being taught by those films is that accomplishments come at the cost of happiness and instead bring danger, treason, and demise. It seems as if one needs to be cautious of what they hope for because ultimately, it might just come true.
Ray Reardon is a character portrayed by James Spader, who plays a rather sophisticated architect getting over an unhappy relationship. The woman in the movie, Lena, is a blend of beauty and danger played by Madchen Amick. Some of her best scenes are when she is lying, and I mean effortlessly lying. So much so that it feels like a game. It is clear to us that she is lying, and probably clear to Ray, too – but she does it so well.
“Dream Lover” is written and directed by Nicholas Kazan, who always seems to have a penchant for risky marriages on screen. His prior project, “Reversal of Fortune” revolved around the allegation of Klaus von Bulow trying to murder his wife. Here, he crafts intrigue that feels particularly seductive due to the fact that it is a game both partners appear to be playing.
This motion picture is not only about how Ray gets tricked by Lena, but also about how he contributes to the process of his trickery. Initially, he is so besotted with her that all questions that should arise when a person has no past or friends do not occur to him. Later, in a fit of jealousy, he starts to search into her history, something she allows him to do for her own devious reasons. Spader does manage to portray that feeling of his wife being deceitful and still having that sex appeal.
As for Madchen Amick, Kazan has allowed her to give a performance that becomes more intriguing as it goes along. This isn’t a one level thriller where she sets out to keep a secret from her husband and he tries to uncover it. A little more sophisticated, she allows him to uncover secrets and then lies plausibly about them while revealing other secrets making him do what she wants.
The movie’s depiction of the ending is not like the rest of the movie which I’m afraid is my biggest issue with it. I find the last five minutes of this movie extremely disappointing, as though it is all wrapped up with an irony that seems to be so contradicting and too good to be true. Having said that, the movie does not really place its rewards on the ending as it is supposed to be captured in the beautiful, albeit dangerous game of fantasy between the lover and the beloved, which makes “Dream Lover” stunning.
To watch more movies like Dream Lover visit 123Movies.
Also Watch for more movies like:
