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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This one had slipped past me when it was first released, I was so glad when I found it.
The casting is great (mega stars - how does Allen manage to get them?). The story was typically simple but superbly scripted. The moral dilemma has disaster written all over it, and that is exactly what happens!
I think Allen is a genius and whilst this may not be his most brilliant of films, it has all the strength of his scripting and direction. I would happily recommend this one to non-Allen lovers.
The casting is great (mega stars - how does Allen manage to get them?). The story was typically simple but superbly scripted. The moral dilemma has disaster written all over it, and that is exactly what happens!
I think Allen is a genius and whilst this may not be his most brilliant of films, it has all the strength of his scripting and direction. I would happily recommend this one to non-Allen lovers.
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Colin Farrell and Ewan MacGregor turn in stellar performances as brothers in "Cassandra's Dream," a stark tragedy which demands that its protagonists choose between loyalty to family and the right thing to do; and because of their respective failings, they become enmeshed in a net from which there is no escape.
This film will not be everybody's cup of tea. It is clear that Woody Allen is not out to please the average movie-goer (nor should he necessarily); throughout the film he alludes to Greek tragedy. By beginning slowly--perhaps a bit too slowly--and then tightening the screws of the plot, Allen takes his characters to the critical moment where they have a choice; then, after a final twist as they pass the point-of-no-return, he begins to loosen his grip on the plot as the action unwinds to its logical conclusion.
Allen alludes specifically Aeschylus' "Oresteia"--the tragedy of murder within the family; blood-begetting-blood; and its resultant guilt and madness. The very title, "Cassandra's Dream," alludes to Aeschylus' drama; for in a trance, Cassandra--with the gift of prophecy that no one believes--foretells the murders that are about to take place within the house. In a similar manner, Allen's opening and closing camera shots that focus on the boat named "Cassandra's Dream," both foreshadow and look back on murder for which the viewer, like the Greek chorus, is unprepared.
This is not Allen's only subtle use of irony in the context of tragedy: In mid-film, when the aspiring actress, who is in love with one of the brothers, meets a serious theatre director, who confides that Euripides' "Medea" is his favorite tragedy, she betrays her lack of theatrical gravitas by replying that yes, Clytemnestra is her favorite character. Since Clytemnestra is not in "Medea" but in the "Oresteia," Allen indicates that she will likely not get the part and the break which she so desperately craves.
"Cassandra's Dream" is a difficult film to watch, but then so is Aeschylus' "Oresteia," the only difference being that the latter, set in ancient Argos, offers the theatre-goer the distance of some two-and-a-half millennia, while the former, set in modern-day London, is too close for comfort.
This film will not be everybody's cup of tea. It is clear that Woody Allen is not out to please the average movie-goer (nor should he necessarily); throughout the film he alludes to Greek tragedy. By beginning slowly--perhaps a bit too slowly--and then tightening the screws of the plot, Allen takes his characters to the critical moment where they have a choice; then, after a final twist as they pass the point-of-no-return, he begins to loosen his grip on the plot as the action unwinds to its logical conclusion.
Allen alludes specifically Aeschylus' "Oresteia"--the tragedy of murder within the family; blood-begetting-blood; and its resultant guilt and madness. The very title, "Cassandra's Dream," alludes to Aeschylus' drama; for in a trance, Cassandra--with the gift of prophecy that no one believes--foretells the murders that are about to take place within the house. In a similar manner, Allen's opening and closing camera shots that focus on the boat named "Cassandra's Dream," both foreshadow and look back on murder for which the viewer, like the Greek chorus, is unprepared.
This is not Allen's only subtle use of irony in the context of tragedy: In mid-film, when the aspiring actress, who is in love with one of the brothers, meets a serious theatre director, who confides that Euripides' "Medea" is his favorite tragedy, she betrays her lack of theatrical gravitas by replying that yes, Clytemnestra is her favorite character. Since Clytemnestra is not in "Medea" but in the "Oresteia," Allen indicates that she will likely not get the part and the break which she so desperately craves.
"Cassandra's Dream" is a difficult film to watch, but then so is Aeschylus' "Oresteia," the only difference being that the latter, set in ancient Argos, offers the theatre-goer the distance of some two-and-a-half millennia, while the former, set in modern-day London, is too close for comfort.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The opening shot of Cassandra's Dream shows Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell running towards a boat. But the sequence appears to begin too early, as though the editor has inadvertently permitted us to catch a split-second of behind-the-scenes reality: we actually see the actors spring to life, no doubt in response to Allen's cry of "Action!" This sense of awkward amateurishness continues through the entire movie, reducing it to a pretty embarrassing mess. Somewhere in the background, you can just about detect the ghost of what could have been a perfectly respectable plot about two brothers agreeing to murder someone in exchange for money, but the execution leaves a great deal to be desired. Only the fact that it's made by the director of Annie Hall and Deconstructing Harry causes you to wonder whether there's a reason for the clunkiness, whether the pale performances, the one-dimensional dialogue and Philip Glass' portentous score are signs that the whole thing is an exercise in irony. But no: this is woefully simplistic fare with hardly any redeeming features whatsoever.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
a great modern film
I expected this to be one of Woody Allen's weaker films as so many people seem to dislike it, so I feel I have to add mine to the lone voice who has given it five stars! Read more
Published 1 month ago by schumann_bg
Sorry Woody, My First One Star Review
Now, don't get me wrong, Woody Allen is for me one of the top ten (or maybe twenty) film directors of all time and films such as Manhattan, Purple Rose of Cairo, Crimes and... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Keith M
No dream, dark drama Allen practice
This is a weaker Woody Allen outing, with a good cast and shooting lost in a boring darker plot.
Armed with awful cockney accents McGregor and Farrell are brothers who... Read more
Armed with awful cockney accents McGregor and Farrell are brothers who... Read more
Published 7 months ago by T. BROOKES
Wooden Allen
Imagine if this was Woody Allen's first film- based on this evidence he'd be considered unemployable. Read more
Published 9 months ago by BoatDrinks
Not entertainment
I was surprised how unwatchable this film became. It started well with the two leads buying a boat, but very quickly all the characters became irritating, to the point where you... Read more
Published 14 months ago by S. R. Cantle
Poor
I would not bother wasting my money again on this film. It is mived up and messy with a plot so outlandish that you turn off from the start. Read more
Published 21 months ago by shentog
The worst film I have ever seen
Let me start by saying I am a Woody Allen fan. I read a couple of reviews of this film before watching it, and despite mixed opinions (normal for WA films) I thought I should give... Read more
Published on 25 May 2010 by Wigwam 35
Cassandra's nightmare
This film was that bad we had to watch it all the way through, we could not believe how bad it was. The story was great, the acting and accents were terrible. Read more
Published on 7 April 2010 by C. J. Hughes
Black comedy? I totally missed the humour.
Certainly watchable and on the whole I enjoyed the film.
I know its Allen, but I was surprised to see it billed as a black comedy as I failed to see any humour in it at... Read more
I know its Allen, but I was surprised to see it billed as a black comedy as I failed to see any humour in it at... Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2010 by M. E. Martin
I still look forward to a Woody Allen film
I think some of the reviews on here are too hard on this film. Firstly we seem to have people with no appreciation of Woody Allen who maybe missed the point of this film. Read more
Published on 6 Dec 2009 by Gary 78
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