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Movies / On DVD / Cassandra's Dream
Cassandra's Dream

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Cassandra's Dream (2008)

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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

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Reviews for Cassandra's Dream

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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The film stumbles in its convenient, obvious plot turns, even if much of this is meaningfully thought-provoking.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
05/22/08
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

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.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
09/15/07
Dan Fainaru
Dan Fainaru
Screen International

Woody Allen still insists on making movies at the rate of one a year, but he clearly needs to slow down. A lot.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/18/08
Steve Rose
Steve Rose
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Disappointing, badly overwritten drama from Woody Allen, rendered almost unwatchable by dreadful Cockney accents from McGregor and Farrell.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/18/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

A clumsy, clichéd morality play that may actually represent the lowest point of Allen’s recently chequered career.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/18/08
Damon Wise
Damon Wise
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment Comment
12/12/07
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

A surprisingly solid, expertly constructed crime drama.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
01/17/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

This family tragedy puts us somewhere near the edge of our seats and pulls us right along its downward spiral.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
01/17/08
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Farrell and McGregor bring much to their roles...to make Cassandra's Dream an effective and chilling ride.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
02/06/09
Linda Barnard
Linda Barnard
Toronto Star

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.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
12/31/07
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Film Journal International

This is Colin Farrell's best work in years and proof that Woody Allen is an old dog, and these are new tricks.

Full Review Source: The Scorecard Review | comment Comment
08/27/08
Jeff Bayer
Jeff Bayer
The Scorecard Review

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.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/15/08
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

If Frida Kahlo can paint 55 self-portraits, Woody Allen can make several versions of the same movie. It's only fair.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/18/08
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

Cassandra's Dream lacks energy and spark. Monotonous and simplistic, it is definitely not worthy of Woody Allen.

Full Review Source: Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) | comment Comment
01/30/08
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Woody Allen’s neurotic-speak works wonders coming from a New Yorker, but coming from a Brit? Not so much.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
10/01/08
Kit Bowen
Kit Bowen
Hollywood.com

A clutch of disturbingly weak performances stumbling over uncharacteristically terrible dialogue.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
01/26/08
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

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.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment 1 Comment
11/08/07
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

In this unrelenting and uncompromising film, Allen directs with the ease of a master

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/17/08
Paul Brenner
Paul Brenner
Filmcritic.com

A mediocre Woody Allen drama about class, money, sex, and crime.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
12/25/07
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

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.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
08/02/08
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
 
 
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