Review of Dreamland
midlandsmovies • December 11, 2020
Dreamland (2020) Dir. Miles Joris-Peyrafitte
With a screenplay by Nicolaas Zwart, Dreamland is a new drama starring Finn Cole (Peaky Blinders) as Eugene Evans, a young man who stumbles upon Margot Robbie’s on-the-run criminal Allison Wells.
Set during the Great Depression, Eugene lives with his mother (Better Call Saul’s Kerry Condon) and father (Vikings’ Travis Fimmel) and his young sister on a rural farm. The family are struggling with their crops having been decimated by dry weather and the sandstorms of the Texas dust bowl.
With a well-realised sense of place and time, Dreamland sees Eugene frustrated at the poverty of not just his family but the community as a whole which is exacerbated when his best friend confesses that he and his family are off to find a better life in California.
But excitement soon enters Eugene’s world as, after word of a bank robbery in town, he subsequently discovers an injured woman in the family’s barn hiding from the authorities. And Robbie’s perpetrator, bloodied from gunshots, convinces Eugene to assist her in dressing her wounds and convincing him to provide sustenance and a hiding place.
Unsure if she’s manipulating the teen for her own ends or genuinely falling for his kind demeanour, Dreamland creates a space for their strange relationship to develop. And this ends up being the core, and the key, to the film.
Both actors bring believable performances and with her usual sultriness, Robbie is fantastic as the duplicitous damsel. Cole is her equal and is tormented by the frustrations of his first love affair and the fear of being duped into a trap.
Bonnie and Clyde is an obvious parallel to be drawn with its 30s-era couple of the run narrative, but there’s also a visual similarity with the more recent Lawless (2012) and its dusty prohibition intensity. Far less violent than the latter, the film however does captures powerful passions of the affair. It also contrasts the wide-open plains against the secretive hiding places of farm buildings, oppressive bedrooms and sleazy hotels.
An impressive single take sequence in a hotel bathroom is the film’s technical highlight and the two leads are incredibly watchable in their well-written roles. And kudos to Darby Camp as the young Phoebe Evans who looks up to her brother with tender love.
Although not spectacularly inventive, the film’s broad canvas does sometimes err towards dullness, the optimism of a better life – be it away from the family, community or the past itself gives Dreamland an underlying theme that satisfies throughout.
And in the end, the sparseness of the wilderness and the closeness of the intimate relationship are balanced well as we follow a couple escaping their personal nightmares in the hope of finding a land of idealistic dreams.
★★★½
Michael Sales
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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