Nicolas Cage plays a man who appears in everyone's dreams and goes viral in Dream Scenario, a surreal comedy written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli. A trailer just dropped for the A24 film that generated buzz at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The official Dream Scenario synopsis reads: “Hapless family man Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom, in this wickedly entertaining comedy from writer-director Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself) and producer Ari Aster.”
“Why me? Uh, I don’t know! I’m special, I guess,” says Cage's Paul Matthews to a crowd in the new Dream Scenario trailer. Throughout the trailer set to the tune of the Cranberries' song “Dreams,” Cage is met with both applause and hostility after becoming the unlikeliest of celebrities. The comedy also stars Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, Dylan Baker, and Kate Berlant.
Critics Praised Nicolas Cage's Performance After Dream Scenario Premiered at TIFF
Deadline's Pete Hammond writes, “Nicolas Cage, after more than 100 credits, finally has his dream role, at least as comedy fans are concerned. He knocks it out of the park.” Variety‘s Peter Debruge praises Cage for giving an “uncommonly low-key performance” from an actor who “may well have made bizarre cameos in your dreams already.”
According to the official Dream Scenario production notes, Cage reached out to producer Ari Aster after reading the script. “I felt that I had the life experience to play this character in terms of being someone who’s in the public eye, and who’s gone up and down in how I’m perceived,” says Cage. “People know a lot of things about me, and the role was a great vessel to channel those memories, experiences and feelings.”
Cage, an Oscar-winning actor who has appeared in more than 100 films, continues:
“Paul’s not a man that has had much attention placed on him in his life, so he’s excited when people look across a crowded restaurant at him. He’s the last person in the world you would imagine everybody dreaming about. He’s not Adonis. He’s not a rock star. He’s not a football hero—he’s just this schlubby, albeit intelligent, dad, the sort of average guy people wouldn’t look twice at.
“It was one of the best scripts I’ve read, quite frankly, and I think it’s my best performance and probably the best movie I’ve ever made.”
Dream Scenario opens in theaters on November 10.