For in that sleep of death what dreams may come. When we have shuffled off this mortal coil
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"For in that sleep of death what dreams may come. When we have shuffled off this mortal coil" - William Shakespeare, Hamlet
The title of the 1998 Robin Williams tale of Heaven and Hell is taken from Shakespeare's familiar play. A fitting title, as the film's primary character must come to terms with the heaven that has been shaped by his dreams after his untimely death and the voyage he must take through Hell to aid his tormented wife and her eternal damnation for throwing away the proverbial gift of life. Although the Terry Gilliam-like film has been largely forgotten, the adaptation of Richard Matheson's novel is a curious entry in the filmography of Robin Williams; the comedian who became near synonymous with feel-good stories during the Nineties. The film suffered at the box office, but it did receive kudos for its vivid colors and imagery and earned an Oscar for Best Art Direction.
Chris Nielsen (Robin Williams) and Annie Nielsen (Annabella Sciorra) found a life and happiness that seemed to be taken from the pages of a storybook. Their chance encounter and subsequent romance where of the material that dreams are made of. They have two wonderful children, Ian (Josh Paddock) and Marie (Jessica Brooks Grant) and are both very successful in their professional lives. Their world comes crashing down when their two children are killed in a car accident and they find themselves once again with only each other. Chris has managed to handle his sorrow and pain, but it has been difficult for Annie. She needs Chris to help her when she is lost and has never found a normalcy after the death of her children.
Annie is suffered another devastating blow when Chris is killed in a car accident while running and errand to make her evening easier. He was trying to assist trapped drivers when a car vaulted into him and ended his existence in the material world. He finds himself in the spiritual world and is guided by a young Albert Lewis (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), the man who was his mentor when he first became a doctor. Chris is able to see Annie and realizes he is dead, but has difficulty in giving up his life. Annie almost appears to feel Chris' presence, but he leaves her again when he enters the realm of Heaven. For Chris, Heaven is a world painted by Annie's brush and a living canvas. As Annie paints on fresh canvas, Chris' heaven is changed. A beautiful lavender tree spots his landscape, but withers away when Annie clears her canvas of the freshly painted tree. Albert explains to Chris that Annie and he are rare soul mates.
While Chris slowly learns to accept his place in his own private Heaven, he meets his daughter Marie and begins to find comfort in his spiritual existence. Chris is dealt another devastating blow when Albert tells him that Annie has committed suicide. Suicides do not earn a pass to Heaven and Chris will not be able to be reunited with his beloved wife. Chris refuses to believe this and decides to travel into Hell and save his wife from eternal damnation. a guide is hired (Max Von Sydow) to help Chris and Albert find where Annie is doomed to exist and they travel across the seas of spiritual existence and move through the fiery gates of Hell into a tormented world where insanity is pain. There Chris finds a confused and lost Annie who cannot recognize her own husband and he learns that those around him are not who he feels they are.
Director Vincent Ward has created a visually captivating film that is lacking in substance, but still worth the price of admission. I have always felt the film had a Terry Gilliam feeling to it just before Max Von Sydow is introduced on-screen. The horrific and unusual depiction of hell is an uncomfortable world of tormented souls and their sail boat journey into Heaven's library is well done. Throughout the entire picture, stunning and imaginative canvases are painted. The world imagined by Chris Nielsen is a world that has been seen neither before nor after "What Dreams May Come." The golden skies and lush vegetation is truly a paradise and its Greek influences are apparent and fitting. The 'painted' world of heaven is truly unique and imaginative. The stark contrast to the visually unappealing world of Hell is a perfect foil to the beauty of happiness and the everlasting life contained within Heaven. It is a place you do not want your soul to spend eternity in.
Where "What Dreams May Come" falters is in its inability to back up its fairy tale visuals with a meaningful story or convincing performances. The story is at its root a love story, but after the original chance encounter in the beginning of the film and a few moments when Annie is in a mental facility, there is little or no tenderness between the two. The real-world moments contained in the film are sodden with sorrow and pain. The strong love that forces Chris to leave Heaven for Hell to be with his wife is just never felt. Once everybody is finally reunited, it feels almost like a non-event. Each flashback shown in the film gave the impression that life on Earth wasn't that great and with no emotional investment in their actual happiness, it just didn't feel all that special.
The actors are all on autopilot throughout the film. Robin Williams is his mushy, optimistic, feel-good self for the entirety of the picture. If you've seen "Patch Adams" or any number of other Williams' films from the same general decade, you've seen this performance before. I cannot recall seeing Annabella Sciorra smile after her first scene. She was crying or upset the entire film. I suppose credit should be given for her continual portrayal of an upset woman on the edge, but her performance was too devoid of strong emotions to invoke a teary-eyed response. Cuba Gooding, Jr. did not belong in this picture. I love the guy and don't feel this was as putrid as "Boat Trip," but he just didn't belong in this movie. He needs a new agent. The legendary Max Von Sydow is always welcome in any film, but his time onscreen was too short and too flat to show how great a man he is. With everybody going through the motions in front of the lush visuals, "What Dreams May Come" felt horribly detached from its emotions.
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[release]21372[/release]