Cassandra's Dream

Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: January 18, 2008

7.8	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 82 Ratings

USER RATING DISTRIBUTION

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Watch Now

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Review this movie

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Please sign in or create an account before writing a review.

Check box if your review contains spoilers

0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User score By date Most helpful

JDH.Jan 20, 2008

On the surface this may seem to be a rebuttal to Crimes and Misdemeanors, but a closer examination sees that it is a very different story. Once one realizes that the story is not about two brothers, but about Ian, with Terry as a supporting On the surface this may seem to be a rebuttal to Crimes and Misdemeanors, but a closer examination sees that it is a very different story. Once one realizes that the story is not about two brothers, but about Ian, with Terry as a supporting character, it yields a similar, yet even darker conclusion than C & M. The clue here may be the title. As Cassandra was cursed to speak the truth but not be believed, Ian speaks lies and is believed by practically everybody. (If you were cursed with the former, would you dream of the latter?) The resultant narcissism propels him toward a inexorable descent to doom that is all Greek tragedy. Unlike Judah Rosenthal, Ian has no moment of remorse after the deed, though he was much more hands on than Judah. Ian is solely driven by his appetites and those around him suffer due in no small part to his lack of substance. Still, unlike Crimes and Misdemeanors and Match Point, Mr. Allen doesn't seem to be as on his game for this outing. The pacing seems uneven and things seem to slow to a crawl at the beginning of the second hour. Though this fits in Allen's trilogy of murder quite nicely, in Ian there are interesting echoes of Lee Simon from Celebrity, both in plot mechanisms and even Mr. McGregor's resemblance to Kenneth Branagh in that role. Still, an interesting study of a doomed personality totally subsumed by his refusal to take responsibility.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

MichaelE.Feb 12, 2008

Pretty ordinary stuff, but Woody is a good enough writer and director to pull it off. At any rate it isn't as cold and familiar as "Match Point."

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Compi24Apr 23, 2020

In discussing my thoughts on the last movie I saw of his -- "The Purple Rose Of Cairo" -- I talked about the many different shades of Woody Allen we've seen over the years (i.e. "satire Woody Allen," "crime/thriller Woody Allen," "romanticIn discussing my thoughts on the last movie I saw of his -- "The Purple Rose Of Cairo" -- I talked about the many different shades of Woody Allen we've seen over the years (i.e. "satire Woody Allen," "crime/thriller Woody Allen," "romantic drama Woody Allen," etc.) Welp. I can say this is, without a doubt, my very first exposure to "Woody Allen, the occasionally mediocre screenwriter/director." Don't get me wrong, I'd still say I enjoyed the net product overall, with the second half of the movie presenting moral dilemma after moral dilemma, each nagging at the base of your skull like a migraine waiting to happen. It just so happens that there are other migraine-inducing things in play here, namely the hammer-fisted dialogue and character development, ultimately plaguing a good portion of this film's first half. Combine that with some of the weakest direction I've seen in a Woody Allen picture to date and you get the experience of watching "Cassandra's Dream," a marginally thought-provoking, decently acted morality play, with some upsettingly sub-par writing interspersed throughout it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews