Cassandra’s Dream
for thematic elements, some sexual material and brief violence.
Reviewed by: Margaret Hays
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Very Offensive |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Adults Teens |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Length: | 1 hr. 48 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2008 |
| USA Release: |
January 18, 2008 (limited—107 theaters); DVD: May 27, 2008 |
How far should family loyalty go?
the strong tendency of sinful humans to justify their actions and repress their God-given consciences
sin and the fall of man
Are you good enough to get to Heaven? Answer
Should I save sex for marriage? Answer
What are the consequences of sexual immorality? Answer
How can we know there’s a God? Answer
What if the cosmos is all that there is? Answer
Gambling—Should Christians be involved with lotteries or other forms of gambling? Answer
Blackmail
Dog racing
Brother brother relationships
Uncle nephew relationships
| Featuring | Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell, Tom Wilkinson, Peter-Hugo Daly, John Benfield, Clare Higgins, Ashley Madekwe, Andrew Howard, Hayley Atwell, Sally Hawkins, Keith Smee, Stephen Noonan, See all » |
| Director |
Woody Allen |
| Producer | Letty Aronson, Brahim Chioua, Charles H. Joffe, Vincent Maraval, Jack Rollins, Stephen Tenenbaum, Ben Waisbren, Gareth Wiley, Daniel Wührmann |
| Distributor |
“How far will you go to make your dreams come true?”
This movie was an interesting experience for me. It dragged, at first, and I got tired of the raunch. Nobody was modest, nobody was pure, nobody seemed to believe fornication was wrong. Loose morals everywhere. Then, in a kind of twist, things changed, and the film took on a different feel. The movie seemed to forget it had been about sex and began to become a compelling story of two brothers faced with a difficult dilemma in Britain.
They buy a boat, “Cassandra’s Dream,” and enjoy taking their girls out on it. But the brothers are flawed and have money troubles. In comes well-heeled Uncle Howard, a well-off plastic surgeon in L.A. He’s in trouble, too, but not monetarily. He needs someone bumped off, and he’ll bail out his nephews in exchange for them assassinating the man he hates. It is at this point that the story had my attention. One brother faced this situation with determination—a chance to better his life, the other brother didn’t want to commit murder. It is a tale now of here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly:
The good
The family really cares about each other, especially the two brothers.
The brothers want to help their uncle and each other, simply because “its family.”
One of the brothers, Terry, is guilt ridden, because, as he admits, he broke God’s law. (ah… how wonderful—a conscience!) But the other brother denies that there even IS a god.
The bad
Many sexual references.
- Ian finds himself a slutty girlfriend who has no problem acting in the nude and doing sex scenes on stage (which we are spared—nicely refreshing!).
The Name of Jesus Christ is profaned many times in this film.
A lot of drinking and several instances of drug use.
The ugly
This is not a “feel good” movie; it become dark and moody.
Cold-blooded murder is committed.
This movie is supposedly “a dark-comedy,” but it is really a tragedy. I believe you won’t find yourself laughing at anything. Rather, you will be shaking your head at what messes people can get themselves into.
All in all, Woody Allen, who wrote and directed, is a very talented writer. The script is interesting, though I regretted the crude sexual references and the Name of Jesus taken in vain. If you enjoy characterizations, you may enjoy this movie. It is not full of action, comedy, or even romance. If you are prone to “the blues,” I believe you will find this movie depressing.
Violence: Minor / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Minor
PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.
After the murder, one brother is repentant and desperate to know if God can forgive him. The other stifles his conscience, denies God’s existence, and eventually grows completely numb to his own depravity, all while maintaining a like-able character. (***SPOILER*** The film does not end well for either of the pair. ***END SPOILER***)
To me, this sends an excellent message about the nature of sin and its corrupting influence. Humanity possesses an incredible ability to justify our actions and repress our God-given consciences. This movie provides a look down the rabbit hole at what can happen if you allow these tendencies to spiral out of control.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½