Review of What Dreams May Come (1998) by Timm S — 12 Oct 2014

WHAT DREAMS MAY COME is a visual feast (especially for 1998) that explores some weighty themes, but ultimately feels artificial and thinly painted. Robin Williams is Chris Nielsen, a doctor who suffers a great tragedy and ultimately is taken by fate as well.

While in the afterlife, he goes on a journey to reunite himself with his wife. First of all, let me say that I don't subscribe to a belief in an afterlife, but the fact that the movie treats it as an objective thing wasn't really a problem for me.

What was a problem was that the whole story was set up so quickly that the core relationship you're supposed to care about wasn't believable. Sure, the screenwriter covered themselves by having Chris and his wife (Annabella Sciorra) be "soulmates," but this felt like a cop-out from actually doing some character development and building a believable relationship.

However, the sentiment expressed by Chris' journey is an understandable one. It tells the story of a man who literally goes to hell and back just to be with the one he loves. Aside from that, the best part of the movie is the visual flair with which the afterlife is realized.

One of Chris' passions is painting, and his early experiences there are very much painting-like. This film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1999, and from what I could tell, it was definitely deserved.

The effects weren't necessarily realistic, but they were impressionistic and artistic. On the downside, the metaphysical content and ideas are practically shoved down the viewers throats. There are many conversations laden with language that's supposed to sound like it's important, but the story never really lives up to these lofty ideas.

Also, when you create a fantasy world there are often rules established to that everything isn't pure chaos. Here, there are some rules established but the film doesn't stick to them. At times, it's unclear how the afterlife works, which could be confusing to some people (assuming they even believe in such a thing).

Overall, this is a very spiritual film that aspires to greatness but is only good. Robin Williams and the rest of the cast give excellent performances, but the visuals only serve to paint over the cracks in the story.