Review of What Dreams May Come (1998) by Jennifer W — 18 Jul 2010

Though I was fighting sleep throughout the film and assumed, at first, that this was because the film was boring, I quickly discovered that I was simply really tired when the plot proceeded to the second act.

For starters, word of mouth may generate that this film is mostly worth watching for its visual effects. On the contrary, I say that the film's use special effects merely bolsters a decidedly original and very touching movie tackling a subject that is notoriously difficult to grapple: the afterlife.

Having seen films like 'The Lovely Bones' mangle the human elements of drama due to its attempt to blow the audience's mind with images of the afterlife, it was completely refreshing to be introduced to a film that depicts life after death in such a beautifully original way while never turning its eye the wellspring of the beauty, that simply being a state of human perception.

When the protagonist's struggle is entered into the film, we must endure a measure of exposition not previously seen, but by the film's conclusion, it all becomes worth it when the corporeal elements of human psychology must clash against the ethereal veil provided by the underworld.

Well acted, scripted, directed, and exceptionally designed, it's a must see for anyone looking for a grown-up fantasy film that doesn't simply derive from everything else around it.