A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

In 1965, Northfield was evacuated to create Northfield Reservoir. In the present, Paul (Aidan Quinn) and Claire Cooper (Annette Bening)'s beloved only daughter Rebecca is taken and killed. In distress, Claire drives off a bridge. She is treated by Doctor Stevens. Claire believes herself to be somewhat psychic and starts having dreams about the killer. She gets treated by psychiatrist Dr. Silverman. Detective Jack Kay is investigating the case. She goes crazy and is sent to an asylum.There is something wrong with Paul. I don't really buy him as a grieving father. The constant flashes to the underwater dream world is also problematic. It's not compelling cinematically and disrupts the flow of the movie. Annette Bening tries her best to be crazy. That and the dreams overwhelm a mystery story about the serial killer. It's a psychological thriller that is kind of annoying. She causes a multi-car pileup over the dog and I want to shake her. I keep thinking when the movie is going to go back to the dead daughter.

'In Dreams' is one of those movies that feels spooky from the word go. I would have given this movie a miss if not for Downey's presence in it. I am currently reading his biography and this movie came at a time when he was at the lowest patch of his career. His screen time is far less but tries to make the most of it. 'In Dreams' is a story of interwoven minds of Vivian & Claire. Downey's best scene in the movie is the one right at the end of the movie. I wish there was more emphasis on building and leading the story than showing Annette's antics and psychotic behavior. I can't find fault with the premise but the story is sort of vague. It never answers Why Claire? Why after so long? How come she is in the same town? Answers to these is left to your imagination.

Claire Cooper dreams strange things from time to time. She dreams about a little girl being taken away by a stranger, in her neighbourhood. When her own daughter is kidnapped and murdered only a little later, Claire is sure about the chilling truth that her and the killer's mind are connected to each other in dreams. But nobody believes her ability to foresee the killer's next steps, as she could with her own daughter. In addition, the nervous breakdown she suffers gets her into a mental facility after a suicide attempt. And here, she dreams of her husband being murdered...You could open up a whole can of worms when you analyse this piece from Jordan. Many have stated that it's the worse film ever made, but that's just a joke. As someone once said, someone's trash is another's treasure, and whilst Jordan has really gone over the top in some aspects, his genius is evident in several scenes.Apples here are the order of the day, is it referring to Snow White, as the play suggests at the beginning, or is it the forbidden fruit? After all, Claire's husband nearly strayed off the path, and Vivian's forbidden fruit is obviously his mother, as he has Freudian issues with her.Its a unique version, and some scenes are very disturbing, but it's certainly a visual treat, even if some of the narrative is a little off par, but then, one could argue, that the whole film consists of dreams within a dream, within a dream, and so on, so this is why the film will be heralded as a masterpiece to some, and a dogs dinner to others.Bening is great as the grieving mother, but once again, Downey Jr is wonderful, in some scenes he looks like the pre transformation wolf in Jordan's The Company Of Wolves, which this film reminded me of from time to time.Whether she dreamt it all, or it was reality, it's still a curiosity piece indeed, and worth watching more than once.....

I'm a car racing nut, and tonight this was up against an F1 race carried live. At the end I chose Bening's and Downey's compelling performances over the end of the race. This is an adult film that keeps you there despite some predictability.Some read into this that Claire Cooper (Bening's character) is the one with the real mental issue. I can see why this thought process occurs to and is helpful for some viewers, but I subscribe to the more "orthodox" view that Vivian Thompson (Robert Downey Jr.) is "the original and the best" when it comes to brain sludge.Some characters need to die in these kinds of movies. Why did it have to be Claire's child Rebecca (Katie Sagona) and husband Paul (Aiden Quinn)? Because we wouldn't care about Claire unless they had died. Will she be believed by her doctors and the Police? Will the Police arrive in time? Will Vivian become sane or judicially killed? Is Claire turning vengeful and "joining the dark side" by getting into Vivian's head at the end, or is it all Vivian? Can you see coming the chase through the apple factory? How about the wrap-up with the water? Okay, so "no metaphor will go un-resolved". So what?! And, writers, please use a male name that's sexual ambiguous rather than sounding 1920s and 30s (I'll say it; "sissy") in the modern age, even if the works in the context of the movie. (Apologies to all the males named Vivian.)