Woody Allen‘s films are simple and accessible. Or at least they seem so. This is also the case with the 2007 ‘Cassandra’s Dream‘, which is part of an English series of three films by Allen, which in turn is part of the international series of films made where he found the inspiration (and probably the financial support) to make them. As in many other films written and directed by him, Allen introduces us to the characters from the first scenes, establishes the relationships between them, builds the premises of the plot that he will develop further. Everything seems clear and flows smoothly, as the veteran director at his 50th film (or around) knows how to tell a story on screen. And yet, there are often subtle undercurrents that viewers don’t immediately notice, and there’s no shortage of surprises either.
Terry and Ian are brothers. In the first scene of the film, the two buy a small pleasure boat named after Cassandra, but it is not clear if they are aware of the predictions of the Trojan priestess. Terry is a car mechanic, has a lifelong girlfriend to whom he is all but married, likes to drink, play poker and bet on dog races. Ian helps his father in the restaurant that is the family business, but he aspires to much more, aiming for real estate investments in California. When he meets Angela, a beautiful theater actress, his ambitions increase, but so does his need for money. In fact, both brothers are in dire need of cash as Terry goes into debt after losing at cards. The only resource would be the rich Uncle Howard, an international businessman. He wouldn’t refuse to help – family before all, right? The only problem is that he asks for a favor in return – for the two brothers to make disappear one of his business partners who risks denouncing him and ruining his career and fortune. Can the siblings refuse? Family before all? Every deed has a reward or a punishment – we know that from Dostoevsky.
With Woody Allen, the substrate is often deep and the references to the classics are not random at all, but they are wrapped in the dilemmas of contemporary man. His characters make decisions worthy of ancient tragedies even though they seem driven by contemporary mundane motives. Money, passion, corruption, morality are perene. In the case of this film, the first reference that came to my mind is obviously to Greek mythology, then to ‘Crime and Punishment’ and finally to the biblical story of the first brothers after the Creation. This time, however, the whole construction seems a little less solid, like a dish with expensive ingredients, but which did not spend enough time in the oven. The English atmosphere didn’t seem too well recreated to me either. It is not enough to cast English actors with the appropriate accent. Of all the characters, only Uncle Howard (played by the excellent Tom Wilkinson) combines the slight real-world awkwardness of many of Woody Allen‘s characters with enough British humor to absorb all the pitfalls of fate. Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor play their roles well, but something seems to be missing to convince us of the reality of their drama. ‘Cassandra’s Dream‘ is not a bad movie. It managed to captivate me in many moments but at the same time left me with the impression that it does not add anything new to the director’s filmography, and that if it had been made 20 years earlier it would have been a much better film.