In Dreams (1999)

A suburban housewife learns that she has a dreamworld connection to a serial murderer, and must stop him from killing again.

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writers:

Bari Wood (novel), Bruce Robinson (screenplay)

Stars:

Annette Bening, Robert Downey Jr., Katie Sagona

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

The housewife Claire Cooper is married to the pilot Paul Cooper and their little daughter Rebecca is their pride and joy. When a stranger kidnaps a girl, Claire dreams about the man but Detective Jack Kay ignores her concerns. But when Rebecca disappears during a school play, Claire learns that her visions were actually premonitions and she is connected to the killer through her dreams. She has a nervous breakdown and tries to commit suicide. Her psychologist Dr. Silverman sends her to a mental institution and soon she finds that her husband will be the next victim of the serial-killer. Further, the serial-killer was interned in the same cell in the hospital where she is. Will Claire be able to save Paul?

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Plot Keywords:

dream | serial killer | mental institution | school play | two word title | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Aidan Quinn's dream scene was filmed in the halls of the Wentworth By The Sea Hotel, in New Castle, New Hampshire. At the time, it had been abandoned for many years. Today, the hotel is a thriving Marriott destination. It was also the site of the Russo and Japanese Treaty at the turn of the twentieth century, hosted by President Theodore Roosevelt.

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Goofs

During sentencing, the judge tells Vivian "the State of Massachusetts has declared you insane," thus making him ineligible for the death penalty. In legal parlance, Massachusetts is always referred to as a Commonwealth, and does not practice the death penalty.

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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

Referenced in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: In Dreams (2014)

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Soundtracks

EBB TIDE
Written by Carl Sigman & Robert Maxwell
Performed by The Righteous Brothers
Courtesy of Polydor Records
By Arrangement with Polygram Film & TV Music

User Reviews

APPLES are a key representation!!!

Apples, Apples, Apples, that's what everyone keeps saying about this film. Perhaps it was a little overdone, but did anyone ever stop to think that the apples were representative of Clair's fear. The apple, the most innocent of all things, a fruit, as the repository of one's own nightmares and fears is creepy enough in itself. Many regard the scene where Clair is frantically throwing apples from a pile on the cupboard into the garburator of the sink as funny. I didn't I was well enough into the film, that the moment actually felt creepy. Jordan's vicious left/right pans of the camera reinforced her feeling of panic or anxiety around the apples.

To mention a couple of the other good points about "In Dreams", there were a couple of ingenious cross cutting scenes created. The first is a cross cut sequence involving Clair who is now in the mental hospital and her husband who goes to the motel that she dreamed about to find the dog. Another wonderful cross-cut sequence involves the escape from the institution. In her dreams, Clair follows Vivian (who had spent time in the exact same room as Clair) out of the institution, and there is much cross-cutting between the past and the present. Much suspense was built in the production of this scene. I don't want to give away any of the ending, but trust me, it scared me lifeless. This is definitely not Neil Jordan's best work, certainly "The Crying Game" is his masterpiece, but nevertheless, this is an original horror suspense film that delivers a punch!

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 USA:

$3,992,449, 17 January 1999

Gross USA:

$12,017,369

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,017,369

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amblin Entertainment, DreamWorks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1