A surreal crime thriller that at times gets lost in its pretentiousness, Dreamland succeeds due to an engrossing dual performance from Stephen McHattie and director Bruce McDonald’s unique vision.
Dreamland is very much a movie that is of a different place and time. Although filmed in Belgium and Luxembourg, it is never revealed where the events of Dreamland are taking place. Hit men, gangsters, tyrants, and even vampires all share this world, as if planet film-noir crash-landed in Transylvania.
What there is no denying is that director Bruce McDonald (Pontypool) wants to say something about the corrupt and powerful in these post-Jeffrey Epstein times, where the crimes of the rich are done behind impenetrable walls both physical and symbolic. A plot involving child-sex trafficking makes this clear.
Dreamland stars prolific character actor Stephen McHattie as Johnny, a shaggy haired hit man who is first introduced laying waste to a cartel of child traffickers. Unbeknownst to him, Johnny’s employer Hercules (Henry Rollins) has invested in child trafficking as well. Hercules first big “deal” in this new venture is offering a child bride to the vampire brother of the feared Countess (Juliette Lewis). Guilt-ridden and seeking to do good, Johnny aims to ruin this unholy ceremony.
Johnny aims to do this through a smacked-out jazz musician simply known as Trumpet Player (also played by McHattie), who is the guest of honour at the wedding. McHattie plays both roles wonderfully, giving grizzled bug-eyed intensity to Johnny, and a drawling almost guru-like tone to the Trumpet Player. Of the two, Johnny resonates more. There is an arc, a grounding, and a struggle there that can be latched onto.
This is important in a film that can go overboard in its world building. Where on one hand McDonald has his aim square on the corrupt echelons of power, his vision is not so clear when it comes to the more surreal, nonsensical aspects in his fantasy crime tale. Thankfully, there is enough grounded drama that is both relevant and entertaining to make Dreamland a place worth visiting, especially with McHattie as the main attraction.
