Dreamland

Dreamland is a heavy hitter in both its honest and intimate portrayal of lost romantic opportunity and the lessons learned in this quirky and serious coming of age film.

At first glance this film may come off like an adult romance cliche but don't let that fool you. This is a fresh work and a brilliant first feature by Robert Schwartzman. The film has a way of grabbing your attention with each stage of the film. Monty's dream of becoming a jazz bar owner and the realization that love may not always come in neatly decorated packages.

Johnny Simmons and Amy Landecker create a fresh look at an overlooked cliche and instead deliver an honest view of love lost that is both charmingly playful and heartbreakingly dreamy.

Lastly, the music composition of the film was pieced together incredibly well. Jumping like a heartbeat, between awkward adolescence and the uncertainty of love to its more mature and intimate moments reminiscent of The Graduate (as another reviewer has commented on).

My title would refer to my reception of this movie and not any particular theme in the movie. In short, I thought the movie was great...especially in light of the conspicuous lack of fanfare over it. I discovered it through Netflix's "related searches" function and I must admit, the stylish "Cocktails and Dreams" motif sold me on it.

One of the other reviewers mentioned that he/she didn't find the Mrs. Robinson character to be pretty and that she looked "old" in a few shots but that she was a good actress...well, how very magnanimous? I thought that she was also a good actress, but did the reviewer miss the point of her character? Common sense says, "yes." She might have looked "old" perhaps because she was an "older woman." Now, does this have much to do with her sensuous nature? Not to anyone who is relatively sophisticated. The point of her inclusion wasn't to present a centerpiece that would be coveted and fawned over, but to be an available sexual option that represented acceptance and opportunity.... That is the point of her character, not to be some sort of high status beauty queen. I would have thought that was obvious. More over, her apparent wrinkles in many scenes further serve to illustrate the urgency of her condition: fading beauty and quiet desperation. Her character was obviously a driving aspect of the movie, but the fact that the actress nailed the role while the script writers did such a great job with the character, boosted my appreciation for this film.

This was so reminiscent of the coolest aspects of 80's romantic angst, set in L.A. The music was intoxicating and addictive if you like a sort of Tangerine Dream soundtrack, which I do.

The classic moped, the street scenes with no people or traffic. It created that mythical quality of early 80's L.A. when it was still white and neon, and still the portal to young men's dreams. They even have a young white couple living in central Los Angeles, like they used to in real life.

I've never heard of or seen the lead actor, but he was perfectly cast. He reminds me of a young Beau Bridges in Your Three Minutes are Up. The musical moments when he's on his moped last just the right amount of time and leave you craving more.

But there's a deeper theme here for those thinkers who wonder what it was all about. They drew a clear picture, but you may have gotten lost in the dreamlike qualities.

This young man had been smothered. First by his mother, then by his girlfriend's mother, and finally by a slightly psychotic "cougar." He had no confidence, and no fight in him. He had been fully emasculated and barely able to function in the world.

Often those types lose themselves in dreams they can't fulfill, because they don't have the strength or courage to do so.

The scenes with the older woman will make you squirm. This guy may be 30 in real life, but he looked very innocent, as he was supposed to. Call it a double standard, but that kind of thing when the woman is older creeps me out. It almost ruined it for me.

In My Tutor in 1983, the woman was relatively young, and could not be the character's mother.

The hotel manager character was also perfectly cast. Even his gay glance at our protagonist was done with perfect subtlety. I will search for the soundtrack, but will not give it another watch, due to the creepy sex thing. But nice job by the Schwartzmans nevertheless.

Where to begin - Johnny Simmons is actually a really great and underappreciated actor. He's young, charming and displays an element of sensitivity. All in all he has this human quality and is very believable.

His portrayal of the young "Graduate"esque Jazz pianist is delicate and smooth. The other actors and actresses are finely cast and do the job perfectly fine. One of my favourite things about this film is how the soundtrack fits the scenes perfectly. The synthy waves compliment the lonely back drop of the Los Angeles urbanscape.

Without further ado I move on to cinematography. It had the inherently indie vibe going on throughout - and it worked. It's a Los Angeles thing and artistically it's a great reflection of the city. Some people will use you, some will make you and others break you and you have try not to be too trusting in a city that can be quite unforgiving but equally beautiful and full of vibrance.

The message within the story really resonated with me - as a twenty something Jazz lover and lonely city dweller I felt a pull to the storyline and really connected with the main character. So if that makes for a biased review then so be it.

I really enjoyed and relished every moment and when the credits started rolling I was sad because I really didn't want the "dream" to end.

Off beat and plenty of soul to carry it along on a tight budget - bravo.

I love the lessons this film provide:

• Monty relationship with Liz showed because your comfortable with a situation you shouldn't settle.

• Monty relationship with the older woman showed don't allow your happiness to be based off someone else because disappointment and false hope can follow behind.

Overall, great film.