Director
Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Interview With A Vampire) follows up The Butcher
Boy with this visual stunner that, ultimately, isn't nearly as captivating as
it wants to be.
Annette
Bening plays a woman who has horrible nightmares that seem all too real. Before
long, she realizes that they are real and that she has somehow tapped into the
mind of a killer, played by Robert Downey Jr.
Jordan
has created some great visuals (including an underwater town), that are extremely
haunting. The problem is, that the film depends on whether or not the audience
buys into Bening's dreams--I never did. It also doesn't help that Downey Jr.,
an actor that can be mesmerizing, doesn't come across as being all that creepy.
Jordan shows hints of brilliance, but for the most part, it's an inconsistent
film. Wes Craven's Nightmare On Elm Street was more effective. Freddy Krueger
is a far scarier villain than Downey's In Dreams killer.
