Review of Cassandra's Dream (2007) by Spangle — 23 Aug 2016

I really enjoyed Cassandra's Dream. Tense, sad, and dramatic, Cassandra's Dream is a very different film from Woody Allen, but shows that an old dog may be able to learn new tricks. Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell are great together here and have great chemistry as brothers who are asked to kill somebody in return for great financial gain.

Though the morality play the film poses and the theme of family relationships may be unoriginal, Allen never fails to elicit tension and thrills along the way, with his two leads game to follow his lead.

There is nothing wrong with a genre film and Cassandra's Dream certainly fits the bill as both a drama and a thriller. It executes its well-worn cliches to perfection, while entertaining in spades. Though its ending may be predictable to some, it does not lose its impact and can be quite spellbinding in the lead up as you watch these brothers grapple with the ramifications of the decisions they make; both positive and negative.

Overall, Cassandra's Dream is a very good film from Woody Allen that has even better performances, while leaving you on edge for much of the film anticipating the next turn it will take.