Review of Cassandra's Dream (2007) by Josh M — 15 Jun 2009

Going into Cassandra's Dream, the main complaint I heard was that it felt like Allen was simply remaking Match Point, and to a much lesser effect. Oddly, while I didn't like the movie, it's not for that reason; in fact, I found the murder story here far more compelling for its focus on family and for the moral discussions around it.

(They don't compare to the similar plot in Crimes and Misdemeanors, but that's beside the point.) The bigger problem is that Allen loses track of his characters whenever he gets away from the central thread.

The parents are never quite convincing as Cockney middle/lower class; the girlfriends wander in and out and seem to have their personalities shift as the plot needs; the uncle's mercurial mood shifts feel more dictated than organic.

And then, there's the ending, which feels abrupt, implausible, and undermines all the time we've spent to that point, especially when compared (sorry) to the superior and more thematically interesting ending of Match Point.

It's a shame, because I loved watching McGregor and Farrell play off of each other as they debated and discussed; unfortunately, their performances aren't enough to keep this from feeling like a pretty big misfire, as a whole.