The film stumbles in its convenient, obvious plot turns, even if much of this is meaningfully thought-provoking.
Cassandra's Dream (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:113
Fresh:52
Rotten:61
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: Colin Farrell and Tom Wilkinson act up a storm in Cassandra's Dream, but Woody Allen's heavy-handed symbolism and foreshadowing drains the plot of all tension.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for thematic elements, some sexual material and brief violence.
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:23-05-2008
Synopsis: Woody Allen wrote and directed this London-set feature, a modern noir with black comic trimmings. Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor play working class brothers who dream of better things than their... Woody Allen wrote and directed this London-set feature, a modern noir with black comic trimmings. Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor play working class brothers who dream of better things than their respective mechanic and restaurant jobs. Hard-drinking Terry (Farrell) has a weakness for gambling, while brother Ian (McGregor) hankers for the finer things when he starts dating a very ambitious actress (Hayley Atwell). Fate deals a hand when their rich American uncle (Tom Wilkinson) slinks into London with a murderous proposition. Named for the boat the lads buy during a rare flush moment--a symbol of the morally compromising power of money and the inevitability, perhaps, of fate--CASSANDRA'S DREAM is another of Allen's loving looks at moneyed urbanites and their penchant for living out Greek tragedy, a la MATCH POINT and CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS. This time around, it's a bit darker, but with Farrell and McGregor in the leads, there's plenty of star power. The lads are clearly having a ball acting under Allen's direction, and they're allowed to develop a charming, rapid-fire fraternal rapport that carries the film--along with Wilkinson's old-school gravitas and Atwell's luminous charisma. Phillip Glass composed the score. [More]
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell, Tom Wilkinson, Sally Hawkins
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell, Tom Wilkinson, Sally Hawkins, Hayley Atwell
Director: Woody Allen
Director: Woody Allen
Screenwriter: Woody Allen
Producer: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, Gareth Wiley
Composer: Philip Glass
Studio: Weinstein Company
Reviews for Cassandra's Dream
If there is a black comedy hiding deep within the folds of this tragic tale, it is so subtly dissimulated that very few will ever manage to unveil it.
Woody Allen still insists on making movies at the rate of one a year, but he clearly needs to slow down. A lot.
Disappointing, badly overwritten drama from Woody Allen, rendered almost unwatchable by dreadful Cockney accents from McGregor and Farrell.
A clumsy, clichéd morality play that may actually represent the lowest point of Allen’s recently chequered career.
With Match Point and now Cassandra’s Dream, Allen exposes the frailty of selfish desire and the compelling seduction of risk-taking behavior. He understands these emotions and has delivered two fascinating, enjoyable films.
This family tragedy puts us somewhere near the edge of our seats and pulls us right along its downward spiral.
Farrell and McGregor bring much to their roles...to make Cassandra's Dream an effective and chilling ride.
Allen's writing here is so lacking in vigor and purpose that much of the film seems to be on nothing more than autopilot, a faded and tissue-paper-thin retread from a filmmaker who should know better.
This is Colin Farrell's best work in years and proof that Woody Allen is an old dog, and these are new tricks.
With Cassandra's Dream, we may finally be seeing confirmation of what many have suspected for years: that Woody Allen's period of greatness as a filmmaker is over.
If Frida Kahlo can paint 55 self-portraits, Woody Allen can make several versions of the same movie. It's only fair.
Cassandra's Dream lacks energy and spark. Monotonous and simplistic, it is definitely not worthy of Woody Allen.
Woody Allen’s neurotic-speak works wonders coming from a New Yorker, but coming from a Brit? Not so much.
A clutch of disturbingly weak performances stumbling over uncharacteristically terrible dialogue.
This is archly contrived nail-biter territory and an almost giddy strain on our nerves as Allen moves his hapless heroes from bad to far worse.
In this unrelenting and uncompromising film, Allen directs with the ease of a master
Woody Allen vuelve sobre ciertos temas de algunas de sus mejores obras (Crímenes y Pecados, Match Point), pero esta vez sin una gran historia que los sustente.
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