TIFF Report #3 — Boldly Original ‘Dream Scenario’ is Nicolas Cage at His Very Best

Nicolas Cage never ceases to impress me with his chameleon-like gift to immerse himself, full-on, into character. Case in point: his gonzo performance in “Dream Scenario.”

The reviews are so far very good — IndieWire, THR, The Wrap, Vanity Fair, Variety and The Guardian all loved this trippy movie.

Sporting a balding pate and a husky grey beard, Cage plays schlub Paul Matthews, an evolutionary science professor, who, for some reason, starts showing up in people’s dreams. In these dreams, he just randomly passes through, not saying a word, he’s just … there.

Paul becomes an internet sensation, but that’s just the start of this wildly original satire on cancel culture and online toxicity. The film is directed by Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli, who directed the black comedy “Sick of Myself.” In “Dream Scenario” Borgli has somewhat matured from his previous film, and not without delivering gut-busting good laughs in the process.

Cage’s performance is one of the best of his career. His comic timing is perfection. At first, his Paul likes the viral attention he’s getting, but things take a turn for the worst when malevolence creeps in — people’s dreams turn into nightmares and Paul gets canceled, ostracized by the world (except in France).

Borgli tackles today’s cultural society in efficient fashion — trauma coaches, safe spaces, Lynch mobs and #MeToo moments suddenly start appearing in Paul’s life. He is now a pariah, but only because people dream of him, he hasn’t done anything wrong, but a veangful mentality is ignited amongst the people. In the process, a cautionary tale is born.

The extremes Cage goes for in this film are both hilarious and boldly original. His Paul is a loser but a harmless one, an underachiever who somehow gains fame and then infamy. With this comic energy, the actor’s range veers between the deadpan and the outrageous. It’s his best performance in decades.