"Dreams and Shadows" Movie Trailer Review

"Dreams and Shadows"

Movie Trailer Review

By our guest blogger, Jeremy Wilkinson

Take one teen with a dash of angst, add an alcoholic father, throw in a female friend, mix it all together with a helping of melodrama and you have the painfully bland "Dreams and Shadows."

The character of Billy is the aforementioned teen and, boy, is he an underwhelming protagonist. Apparently, he is unhappy with the way his life is going, so he spends a lot of time in his room fantasizing he’s a samurai warrior. This angle wouldn’t be so bad if: a) he was more convincing as a real person and b) it wasn’t an escape from the clichéd "drunken father with tragic past."

Billy’s father (James Russo) phones in his acting in the bits were shown in the trailer--he’s crabby, sad and disappointed with his son but without the sincerity that would allow a viewer to be pulled into the reality of the narrative.

Every shot tries for emotion--we’re given the requisite black-and-white frames, moody music and a few flashbacks.  Each one is hollow, but they get a C for effort.

What is probably the most unsettling aspect of the trailer comes during the last minute, where our protagonist dons make-up and takes a katana out into some urban environment. Maybe he killed somebody, as one shot implies, or perhaps he just made threats. Nevertheless, the idea he would even go running around in that ridiculous get-up with a weapon he probably doesn't know how to use is a scary thought. The craziness doesn’t stop there--when his friend says, “This is just a dream,” he replies “I know.  But when I close my eyes, it’s real.” Though it is possibly put in there to make Billy seem to be a "dreamer," it instead makes him seem like someone who should probably be heavily medicated.

Little philosophical tidbits like, “What do you do when living is not enough?” only cements "Dreams and Shadows" as an instantly forgettable attempt at drama.