In Dreams (1999)

Claire Cooper dreams strange things from time to time. One night, she dreams about a little girl being taken away by a stranger, right in her neighbourhood. When her own daughter Rebecca is... See full summary »

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writers:

Bari Wood (novel), Bruce Robinson (screenplay),

Stars:

Annette Bening, Katie Sagona, Aidan Quinn

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Annette Bening	...	Claire Cooper
Katie Sagona	...	Rebecca Cooper
Aidan Quinn	...	Paul Cooper
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Vivian Thompson
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Detective Jack Kay
Kathleen Langlois	...	Snow White
Jennifer Berry	...	Hunter
Emma J. Brown	...	Dwarf
Jennifer Dragon	...	Dwarf
Samantha Kelly	...	Dwarf
Jennifer Caine Natenshon	...	Dwarf
Bethany M. Paquin	...	Dwarf
Erica Sullivan	...	Dwarf
Amelia Claire Novotny	...	Prince
Kristin Sroka	...	Wicked Stepmother

Storyline

Claire Cooper dreams strange things from time to time. One night, she dreams about a little girl being taken away by a stranger, right in her neighbourhood. When her own daughter Rebecca is kidnapped and murdered only a little later, Claire is sure about the chilling truth that her and the killer's mind are connected to each other in dreams. But nobody believes her being able to foresee the killer's next steps, as she could with her own daughter. In addition, the nervous breakdown she suffers gets her into a mental facility after a suicide attempt. And here, locked away in a padded cell, she dreams of her husband being murdered...

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Plot Keywords:

dream | suicide attempt | padded cell | hotel | murder | 

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Taglines:

You don't have to sleep to dream

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence/terror and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blue Vision

Filming Locations:

Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£91,172 (UK) (30 April 1999)

Gross:

£91,172 (UK) (30 April 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amblin Entertainment, DreamWorks SKG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The underwater scenes were filmed in Quabbin Reservoir, where the township of Dana, MA once stood.

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Goofs

The First six minutes of the film while 'Aidan Quinn' and Annette Bening are at the bedroom doorway discussing her first dream about the missing girl, a black boom microphone can be clearly seen above them following each of their dialogue from behind the door header.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Claire: [Helping daughter rehearse lines from Snow White while walking through trees by lake]
[In sing-song voice]
Claire: Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of us all?
Rebecca Cooper: [Skipping through trees by lake]
[In sing-song voice]
Rebecca Cooper: You're the fairest in this hall but Snow WHITE is THE...
Claire: [laughs] Come on Rebecca, forget it's a play. Just, say it like you're saying it to me.
Rebecca Cooper: [sing-song voice] Snow White's the fairest of them all.
Claire: And again.
[...]

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Connections

Featured in The Last Days of the Board (1999)

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Soundtracks

"DON'T SIT UNDER THE APPLE TREE"
Written by Lew Brown, Sam Stept & Charles Tobias
Performed by The Andrews Sisters
Courtesy of MCA Records
Under license from Universal Music Special Markets

User Reviews

Atmospheric thriller...see it for the visual

effects. While many critics had not appreciated this film, I actually found it unique, beautifully photographed, and well acted, especially on the part of Annette Bening, Stephen Rea and especially Robert Downey, Jr.

It is set in Western Massachusetts, where a town was once flooded to rebuild the area. One of the residents from the local asylum; Robert Downey Jr., is a serial killer. Bening has psychic visions about his victims.

The symbol of apples and the color red, are a recurring nightmare for Bening, whose husband (well portrayed by Aidan Quinn) is beyond despair. She needs some sort of psychiatric help for her seeming obsessions. The visuals as she is having nightmares, are quite vivid and ethereal. Particularly noteworthy is the beginning sequence, wherein Bening's daughter is kidnapped. The daughter was just in a school play- the angel wing costume, crystallized and glistening on a tree- is found by the police. No daughter in sight.

Claire begins to have nightmares about a child named "Ruby" - her dog "Dobie" runs away, and is eventually killed by Downey Jr. There is also a cinematic scene where Bening is at an abandoned hotel, in a flowing red gown- the symbolism is very haunting.

Stephen Rea is the psychiatrist who attempts to help Claire with her obsessions/delusions. He is very believable, and the imagery at the state asylum is stark and foreboding.

This film has several haunting, subconscious images. Do not be surprised if you find yourself dreaming, or having similar nightmares. Sometimes, REM sleep looks similar to the filmed underwater sequences here. The photography was superior to anything I have seen in quite some time, with the possible exception of Fellini's "La Strada".