Review – What Dreams May Come

A big budget film based on a novel by Richard Matheson? I should have loved it. Certainly I was impressed by the art direction (very Pre-Raphaelite) and visual effects. This is one of the prettiest movies I’ve ever seen. Even Robin Williams wasn’t his usual, frantic self. And sure, the new-agey psycho-babble version of the afterlife is sometimes more than a little hard to swallow, especially when it starts to muddle the plot a bit. However, overall this is a technical wonder with copious literary allusions, and it could have been one of the most entertaining movies ever. The only problem – and unfortunately it’s a big one – is that the story is one huge, unending bummer from beginning to end. Kid death. Husband death. Wife death. Even the dog dies right at the outset, setting the tone for the rest of the show. I suppose it’s normal and healthy to be able to look the Grim Reaper in the face every now and again, but such an extensive wallow in grief tends to leave one a bit emotionally drained by the end. I won’t warn you off it entirely, but don’t expect to walk away from the experience in the sunniest of moods. Mildly amusing