Mean Dreams

Name: Mean Dreams
Genre: Thriller
Released: March 17, 2017
Duration: 108 min
Rating: 64

2017

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Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews

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Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Ratings

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6.9

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6.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Ratings

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Mean Dreams

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Movie Details & Credits

Vertical Entertainment | Release Date: March 17, 2017 | R

Summary: Follows Casey and Jonas, two teenagers desperate to escape their broken and abusive homes and examines the desperation of life on the run and the beauty of first love.

Director: Nathan Morlando

Genre(s): Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 108 min

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Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper

Mar 16, 2017

While the plot often travels familiar paths and even the impressive camerawork is evocative of other films, Mean Dreams has a few story tricks up its sleeve — and it has Bill Paxton, playing one of the most odious characters he ever played, and doing it with absolute mastery. Read full review

The Film Stage Mike Mazzanti

Mar 16, 2017

While Mean Dreams stumbles once or twice, it is a thrillingly dark fable draped in beautiful images and a layered, menacing performance from Paxton. Read full review

Rex Reed

Mar 21, 2017

Not a great film in the same vein as "Badlands" and "Pretty Poison," but a very good one that is well worth seeing. Read full review

Luke Y. Thompson

Mar 15, 2017

For better or for worse, Paxton's performance will be the focus of viewers’ attention, so it is decidedly to the good that he doesn't just deliver. He gives a sort of master class on why we've loved him: Paxton was amazing in the role of regular guys, and equally compelling as the subversion of same. Read full review

Kimber Myers

Mar 16, 2017

Featuring one of Bill Paxton’s final performances, Mean Dreams is a painful reminder of the actor’s great talents. Read full review

David Rooney

Mar 13, 2017

As the stakes are heightened, the filmmakers too often short-change dramatic verisimilitude with movie-ish cliché, implausible plotting and cumbersome dialogue. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Nick Allen

Mar 17, 2017

As for Paxton, he enters the story with an edge, establishing the authority and revealing sensitivity of a single father with a powerful job. It’s not a career-topping role by any means but it is a reminder of how the late actor could take on a role with sincerity and breathe some type of life into it. Read full review

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qbase

Feb 17, 2019

Ένα ανήλικο ρομάντζο που γίνεται θρίλερ καταδίωξης φέρνει στο νου το «Badlands» του Τέρενς Μάλικ και φωτίζει με νεο-γουέστερν στιλ τη σκοτεινή πλευρά της ενηλικίωσης.

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LeZee

Jun 26, 2017

An opportunity came their way for an unplanned venture.

As far I know, there's a thin difference between Canadian films and the US. Just like the Hong Kong's Cantonese and the Chinese Mandarin films are. They exchange starts and crews, but most of the Canadian film I've seen were FrenchAn opportunity came their way for an unplanned venture.

As far I know, there's a thin difference between Canadian films and the US. Just like the Hong Kong's Cantonese and the Chinese Mandarin films are. They exchange starts and crews, but most of the Canadian film I've seen were French language. Those English films are not as popular as the Hollywood's on the world stage. Lots of good films go unnoticed like the recent film 'The Confirmation' I reviewed a few months ago. If this same film were made in Hollywood, would have been considered an average. But for the Canadian standards, I mean they usually won't make the big budget fancy films, hence it is so much better.

This is a coming-of-age thriller drama. Revolves around two teenagers as they run away with a bag full of cash from their parents. It all begins with a girl, who arrive in a small town with her father. Soon she makes a friend with her neighbour boy. His parents are neglect kind when it comes to him, and her father is an alcoholic, abuser, as well as a dirty cop. One day her father comes standing between them, that's the opportunity they were looking for to run away, since being with their parents has not been any good. But her father is not in the mood to let them go as his money was involved. So the running and chasing game begins.

You might say, you have seen this story in all the similar themed films, no matter its Hollywood, European or the Korean. That's what I thought too, but still it is a very good film. I'm not expecting it to impress you as well. If it does, then that's great. But it all depends on your taste in films, quantity of films you watch regularly and most importantly your expectation from it. It was like another 'Cop Car', but there's no car involved in the core of the plot. It's all about the money and the mad-cop father. It looked kind of western style, or the tale that very much suitable for the humid California settings.

❝It's no ocean, but it's ours.❞

In this, it was always cloudy, wet and chilling moisture atmosphere where all the chase takes place. The great locations that avoids to get in any major town/city. Other than 3-4 main cast, there's no one else. Because most of the scenes are between the boy and the girl and sometimes her cop father in isolated places. There's a dog in the film, but not focused enough to classify it as a dog film from one of the angles. The pace of the narration was so fast with not too long or very short overall runtime. It had many twists and turns, yet definitely you would predict most of them.

Nice performances, by both the youngsters. As usual Bill Paxton nailed it in his negative role. It was one of his final films before his death early this year. It was a small appearance, but a prominent role that I surely would remember it for him. I was not anticipating anything extraordinary. But when I learnt about its synopsis, I thought I understood everything about the story there itself. Though watching it in the film was a different experience and one of the reason was, it is a different cast and atmospheric setting.

I felt they should have improvised in some of the parts, but at the end I'm satisfied being what it is. Especially in the initial stage, the intro was so simple and skips fast to the next stage. I did not fully understand any of the characters about their earlier life events to the point where this story commenced. But going forward, I started to have an idea, seeing how the tale has progressed. That really helped to come to the point directly.

There are no smart scenes like the film characters to take measures to counter the threats in a fancy way. That's done mainly to impress the viewers. This screenplay tried to be realistic as much as possible, but there's a couple of scenes that could only work in cinematic. I think that's sometimes necessary for a film. After all it is a film and made for entertainment purpose, not a documentary feature. But overall film was much better with enough tense moments and interesting developments. Lots of good films released in the last 12 months and this is not one of them, but considering it is from Canada, surely it is. Because I've already given the reason for that in the very first paragraph. So thumbs up for it from my side.

7/10… Expand

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ourtimehascome

Oct 20, 2017

As a coming of age story, Mean Dreams is incredibly lackluster. What is meant to be a believable relationship builds for about ten minutes in a montage sequence. It lacks any authenticity. The thriller aspect is predictable and generic. Bill Paxton gives an interesting performance in one ofAs a coming of age story, Mean Dreams is incredibly lackluster. What is meant to be a believable relationship builds for about ten minutes in a montage sequence. It lacks any authenticity. The thriller aspect is predictable and generic. Bill Paxton gives an interesting performance in one of his last film roles. But the film's primary theme is thrown away when a ridiculous sequence of events becomes the main focus.… Expand

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