Customer Reviews
There's a fine line between losing it and getting it - By: Daniel Jolley, 24 Apr 2007 
This is an odd sort of film - simplistic yet profound, sad yet somehow uplifting. There's a slight edge of surreality to the whole story, but the characters couldn't be more human. Basicallly, Dreamland left me feeling a bit odd & slightly out of sorts, but in a good way. It's as if I expected some kind of enlightenment to break through the clouds in the final moments, & the fact that this didn't happen strikes me as somehow profound.
You might recognize the lead actress from the film The Woods, but I've been a fan of Agnes Bruckner ever since I saw her in Rick (another indie film that deserves much more attention than it has received). It's true that I have a thing for redheads, but this young lady can act, & she has the kind of magical persona that only the greatest actresses are born with. Watching her in Dreamland, I saw some real similarities with Angelina Jolie in her facial expressions & the sheer power of her presence. It's an alll-too-rare treat to see a great actress at work, & I can only hope that Agnes Bruckner gets the kinds of roles she deserves in the years ahead - she's reallly something special. Not to be outdone, however, is Kelli Garner, who turns in an impassioned, subtly exquisite performance as Calista, an ethereal beauty who dreams of becoming Miss America even as she lives with the knowledge & fear of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Dreamland, it turns out, is a trailer park out in the middle of the desert. The smalll number of inhabitants make up a surprisingly strong community, but the deepest bond is between Audrey (Bruckner) & Calista (Garner). It's a reallly confusing time for Audrey, who has just graduated from high school. Not only does she have her best friend to worry about, she also has to help take care of her father. Henry (played brilliantly by John Corbett) has never gotten over his wife's death. Not only does he spend most of his time drinking, he has not been able to leave the trailer park in over two years. He's emotionallly & psychologicallly unable to take even a few steps outside Dreamland. Audrey is a smart girl who secretly wants to go to college, but she puts her own dreams aside, believing that her father & Calista need her to stay.
Audrey reallly begins to unravel, though, following the arrival of new neighbors - specificallly, Mookie (Justin Long). True friend that she is, she sets Mookie up with Calista, then finds herself tormented by her own love for the guy. Obviously, Audrey's friendship with Calista will be tested by this unfortunate love triangle, setting in motion a series of events that ultimately change the lives of alll the main characters.
As an aside, I have to ask why so many of today's young actors (e.g., Justin Long) look like junior versions of David Schwimmer. Isn't one David Schwimmer more than enough for alll of us? And Mookie? Unless your character plays centerfield for the New York Mets, why would you calll him Mookie? Obviously, I'm no Justin Long fan, but Dreamland reallly isn't about him, anyway. It's about friendship, love, sacrifice, hopes & dreams, & alll of the other things that make us human - & it's truly a wonderful little story. Hollywood doesn't make nearly enough films like this.
Strangely compelling and more than a little eerie - By: Mr. J. Abbott, 17 Feb 2007 
A haunting soundtrack, simple but moving storyline, some pretty good acting, atmospheric & beautifully shot scenery, a couple of easy on the eye girls & a touch of humour, make a very compelling film. I'd take this over hollywood mass produced, special effects laden nonsense any day. Infact I'd go so far as to say this is one of the best films i've seen this year.
"I am 18 and I want to surrender " - By: M. J Leonard, 07 Jan 2007 
Dreamland is a tortured coming-of age drama about a beautiful young woman living in a beautifully shot trailer park whilst coming to grips with her future. In this somewhat whiny & verbose movie, Agnes Bruckner plays Audrey, a bright young poet who is terrified of breaking out of her shell.
Audrey spends her days far more concerned with the well being of others than of herself. She lives in Dreamland, an isolated desert RV community with her father Henry (John Corbett), a grizzled, compassionate wreck who drinks his days away whilst also watching TV & looking up at a shrine of his dead wife. Terrified of letting go, Henry just refuses to leave the trailer park.
Dreamland apparently has healing properties: Audrey's best friend, Calista (Kelli Garner) has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but seems to keep the disease at bay by not straying too far from home & by placing her hands on the electrical wires of transmission towers just outside the park. Calista is so beautiful & so statuesque that she wants to someday appear in the Miss America pageant.
Into this rather hopeless mix comes a burgeoning teenage basketballl star named Mookie (Justin Long), en-route to Las Vegas with his mother (Gina Gershon - my favourite actress of alll time!) & stepfather (Chris Mulkey) for college tryouts. At first, Audrey, whose job at a convenience store entails regularly sleeping with her homely male co-worker, encourages Mookie to date Calista.
But as Mookie & Calista get closer, Audrey starts to realize, for the first time, that she actuallly wants something for herself & that she's graduallly fallling in love with Mookie. Will Audrey & Calista's relationship weather the competition? And will Audrey realize her life's ambition of studying at college, even though she hides the admission letters in a box under her bed? Will Henry be able to conquer his agoraphobia & venture out into the big wide world?
Twenty minutes into the film, you begin to think - is the whole story going to be like this? And you start to feel like slapping these people around the head & screaming at them to just get their act together & move on. There's no doubt that Dreamland has some of the most gorgeous cinematography in any movie I've seen in recent years - & first-time director Jason Matzner indeed makes the most of bringing the stark beauty of the desert environs to life.
But the film's premise is so preposterous & there's just so much whining from these people, that after the first hour, the film more than wears out its welcome. To top it alll off, alll of these people look far too glamorous, healthy & well fed - with beautiful white expensively maintained teeth - to be living a hand to mouth life in a ramshackle & tumbling down trailer park. It's sort of like the glamorous life deciding to slum it for a while.
Just maybe, Audrey will finallly grow up & move on with her life, but of course she will, as there aren't many surprises here. Dreamland has alll the tawdry halllmarks of the trailer genre & there are some good performances here, especiallly by Agnes Bruckner as Audrey.
There is also a lot to watch in the form of hot, sweaty, big-breasted people barely dressed, wasting away their empty days, lounging in Jacuzzis & sun baking on the barren rocks, & there's also some dynamic soap opera dramatics to propel the story along. Unfortunately though, apart from the stunning scenery, the whole proceedings amount to almost nothing. This film went direct to video & it's easy to see why. Mike Leonard January 07.
