In 2005 after Woody Allen released "Match Point" many thought Woody Allen was back on a winning streak. "Match Point" marked the first time in perhaps a decade that the great filmmaker received a majority of good press. As many readers may know the film was his first to be shot in London. The American critics felt the change in location was a welcomed source of inspiration. But, oh how quickly things change. With all of the good will thrown at Allen for that film it seemed to have vanished with his next film "Scoop" and was practically invisible when "Cassandra's Dream" was released in 2007. It became one of Allen lowest grossing movies of all time. And for a Woody Allen movie that is saying something.
But I didn't follow the band wagon (I rarely do). I celebrated the release of a new Woody Allen film. In fact I thought "Cassandra's Dream" was one of the best films of the year. I have recently watched the movie a second time and it holds up just as well if not better in some instances after a second viewing.
"Cassandra's Dream" deals with two lower-class brothers; Ian (Ewan McGregor) and Terry (Colin Farrell). Terry has a gambling problem but luckily has been on a winning streak. During one poker game he actually walks away winning 30 thousand pounds. Ian works at their father's restaurant but waits for the day he can leave to explore some business opportunities involving an investment in hotels in America. But fate plays strange tricks on the brothers. Terry's luck runs out on him as he owes loan sharks 90 thousand pounds. Neither he or Ian have enough money to get him out of debt. In addition to which Ian meets a women, Angela (Hayley Atwell) a struggling actress. Ian has pretended to lead a lifestyle beyond his means in order to impress her. Both are now strapped for cash.
With no hope in sight, their luck turns around again when their wealthy uncle Howard (Tom Wilkinson) pays a surprise visit to celebrate their mother's birthday. The brothers see this as their chance to ask their uncle for some financial help. But Howard is in a problem of his own. He is in trouble for some shady business moves and needs to hush up a former employee who is going to testify against him. Howard will help his nephews if they will "eliminate" the employee.
With this moral dilemma we get to the heart of Allen's film. What lies in men's soul. Are good people capable of doing bad things. Allen has been very interested in this question throughout his career. His "Crimes & Misdemeanors" was about brothers also plotting a murder and the moral responsibility it brings. His "Match Point" continued upon that theme, but I felt Allen found a better metaphor to express his cynical world view in that film. In "Cassandra's Dream" he doesn't quite find the same powerful metaphor but the movie is interesting nonetheless. Allen plays up the unpredictable nature of luck in this movie as we see through Terry's gambling streak.
When I first saw "Cassandra's Dream" I thought McGregor gave the better performance between the brothers. McGregor, I thought, had more star appeal. I also found I could relate to his character more. His thirst for ambition and "do anything" mentality to achieve it. But after a second viewing Farrell performance wasn't as bad as I originally thought it was. While I acknowledged the Terry character goes through a much broader transformation than the Ian character, Farrell, I thought always kept the performance at the page level. Meaning I didn't feel he fleshed out the character. He simply did what was on the page. Now I don't think so. There are moments when if you just watch Farrell in a scene you'll see his eyes constantly moving. It is as if you are watching him go through a thinking process. His mind is always on the go.
The performance I am the most taken with however belonged to the newcomer, Hayley Atwell. When I first saw the movie I called her a treasure. I'll stand by that though sadly I haven't seen her in anything since then which I felt used her as effectively as this film did. She was wasted in "Brideshead Revisited" though does, at times, shine in "The Duchess". Here though she is extremely seductive and sexy while carrying on in the Allen tradition of having his females be a tad bit neurotic and unstable. She pulls the role off nicely.
My only problem, as far as the Angela character goes, was Allen's and his cinematographer, the famed Hungarian Vilmos Zsigmond's decision not to have the camera follow her more aggressively. I would have liked the camera to linger on her figure. Treat her the way you would a femme fatale in a noir film. Zsigmond, an excellent cinematographer does create a nice mood overall though. He worked with Allen on another film "Melinda & Melinda". He also worked with Robert Altman on numerous films including "The Long Goodbye" and with directors such as Brian De Palma ("The Black Dahlia" and "Blow Out").
"Cassandra's Dream" also marked the first time in years Allen hired a composer to write a score instead of using jazz recordings. Here we get the minimalist style of Philip Glass, whose previous scores have been the films "The Hours" and "The Illusionist". At the beginning of the movie I felt his score was too forceful but by the end of the picture, when the intensity starts to pick up his music matches with the scenes.
A lot of viewers will complain about the movie's ending. Roger Ebert, normally an Allen fan, disliked the movie feeling the ending was "too realistic". The ending didn't bother me. Cinematically it felt correct to me. I didn't feel as if Allen had cheated us. It is difficult to think of another way the movie could have ended while still staying true to Allen's vision.
I fear "Cassandra's Dream" has earned an undeserved bad reputation. I admit it is not better than "Match Point", which some viewers may be tempted to compare it too, since both films are set in London and involve murder, but to compare these two movies is unfair. "Cassandra's Dream" asks some interesting questions, has good performances (look for Sally Hawkins as Farrell's wife) and retains Allen's typical world view. Sure it has some flaws but this is one of Allen's best films. The public should have paid more attention to this movie.
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