The
afterlife is perhaps one of the most intriguing subjects ever, and an engaging
concept for any movie. No one really knows what life is like after death, and
even for those of us who believe in Heaven haven’t got a clue as to what it
would be like when we get there. Over the years I’ve read many stories and seen
many movies involving the afterlife including “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” and “Heaven is for Real”, each with their own take on what life after
death will presumably be like. Now with the tragic passing of the great Robin
Williams, I feel it’s only proper to review the 1998 motion picture “What Dreams May Come”, which also
revolves around the afterlife. Before I get to ahead of myself, I want it noted
that I’ll do a proper tribute to Robin Williams later, and maybe even discuss
some of the statements revolving his death. For this post however, I’m only
going to talk about the movie and its contents. Now with a title like “What Dreams May Come”, you may think
this has something to do with Shakespeare, sense this is a direct quote from “Hamlet”, more specifically the opening
of a soliloquy in the “Nunnery Scene” that began with the famous “To be, or not
to be...”, but let me ashore you, this has no direct barring on either “Hamlet” or the writing of William
Shakespeare. So, with all that cleared up, let’s talk about the movie.
The late great
Robin Williams plays a doctor named Chris, who’s fallen in love with a woman
named Annie. Together they raise a son and doubter, life seems magical and
every day is a blessing until one tragic morning in which the children unfortunately die in a car accident. Now our lead couple is struggling with this
lose and just when Chris thinks he can finally bring hope and love back to his
wife, he to tragically dies in another freak car accident. From this point on,
we follow Chris on his journey through death, at first he’s like a ghost,
observing his wife on earth, and the impact that his death left on her. Then he
finds his way to Heaven, or more specifically, his own personal Heaven that he
created from his own life and dreams. Along his journey in the afterlife, he’s
guided by an angel named Albert, played by Cuba Gooding Jr. who once new Chris
back on Earth.
There honestly
isn’t that much of a plot or flowing narrative, instead this film comes off as
more of an experience in an unknown but magical setting, just with some talk
about the meaning of life and family togetherness thrown in for good measure.
Before I get lost in all the details of the film, let me first address the
absolute best quality of the movie which makes it worth viewing. This film is
absolutely breathtaking to look at, the scenery is so surreal, beautiful and
vibrant that you just feel transported. The logic in the film is that every
individual creates his own heaven, and in the case of Chris, he was very fond
of paintings and art work back on Earth, so his version of heaven is like one
big painting. The things Chris dose in Heaven is also very fun to watch, it’s
like seeing a kid take control of his most magical dream. I especially love
this scene when he wills himself to fly across the landscape. As the film goes
on, we see many different interpretations of heaven from other desist
characters, each with an astonishing look and feel that’s all their own. I love
how detailed everything is, we actually get to a point where this feels less
like Heaven and more like a magical fantasy world, with mermaids and people
flying through the sky. Even if you’re not interested in the films subjects of
life and death, the film is absolutely worth viewing, just to be transported to
this magical world that the film creates.
The subjects
raised in this movie are kind of hit and miss, some topics are really good,
while others are kind of head scratching. The main point the film emphasizes is
that when you find your perfect soul mate, the connection between the two never
stops. A person may die but love never dies, you’ll still have that connection
even in the afterlife. This is good on its own, but what really sells it are the
performances from the cast. Robin Williams is of course an actor that just can’t
do wrong, and when he’s paired with his wife played by Annabella Sciorra, the
two bring out heartbreakingly effective performances. Cuba Gooding Jr. is okay as
the angel but he just doesn’t stand out like Williams dose. That’s not to say
that this is one of Robin’s absolute best performances but I always love how versatile
Robin Williams is as an actor, he can be so sympathetic and stern but also
really funny and charming. Well, this movie is no exception, he runs the whole
gambit of emotions, nailing both the dramatic and cheerful performance that we
all know and love from Williams. I also want to give some credit to the lovely
Asian actress named Rosalind Chao who plays a character named Leona in this
film. This is an actress that I’ve personally enjoyed in TV shows like “Star Trek The Next Generation”, “Deep Space 9”, and a phew others. While
her role in this movie is short, it’s probably one of the most touching performances
of hers that I’ve seen.
Unfortunately, now that I’ve mentioned her
character, I need to address another point made in this film that really brings
it down for me. Many stories of the afterlife will make some point that the
image of your soul can be represented by the best parts of your life, it can
take the appearance of you as a child or a middle aged individual, but this
movie dose something else that I just don’t care for. When Chris goes to
Heaven, he maintains the same form he had on Earth but every other angel he
meets takes the form of someone else entirely. For example, the Asian girl
Leona is eventually revealed to be Chris’s late daughter, she had taken this appearance
because her father once spotted a flight attendant that was an Asian girl that
he found attractive. So his daughter wanted to be as beautiful as that woman
that her father liked. The movie also makes a clear point that it’s the specific
flight attendant the father and daughter met that one time on a plain. Personally,
I like to believe that God made us in his own image, and I just don’t
understand why these characters would take the image of someone else entirely,
especially strangers who already have their own respected image. It also gets
really confusing near the end when it’s revealed that Chris’s late son took the
appearance of a doctor that Chris respected back on Earth, and later we see that
the soul of the real doctor took the appearance of yet another stranger, and it
just makes the film feel needlessly complicated and even silly.
Both the tone and
plot of the movie take a serious shift in the final act of the film. As Chris
has been having a beautiful time in Heaven with his kids, his wife has been
going through hell on Earth. Eventually, the wife takes her own life, and her
soul is sent to one of the lower levels of Hell. Now Chris is determined to go
down there and free her soul from the underworld. Some people may find it just
a little too gimmicky that Chris’s soul can willingly leave Heaven and venture
into Hell to rescue his wife, but for the sake of the movie, I’m not going to complain
about it. I will say that even in the dark and gloomy setting of Hell, the
movie is still very imaginative and impressive to look at. Aside from the actual
gates of Hell, there really isn’t that much fire and brimstone, instead this
films version of Hell is depicted as a cold and gloomy place where sinners continue
to live their miserable lives, without even realizing that there stuck in this
limbo for all eternity. There’s an especially eerie scene when Chris walks over
a sea of bodies that are buried up to their heads, which are all still talking like they were back on Earth with no hope and no remorse.
Now I don’t mean
to spoil too much of the movie, but the ending is another big problem that I
feel needs to be addressed, so spoiler alert. As you’d expect, Chris dose save
his wife from Hell and their both happily reunited with their children in
Heaven. I feel that the movie should have stopped right there and ended on a
high note, but unfortunately, both Chris and his wife don’t want to stay in
Heaven with their kids and decide to be reincarnated as two children who are completely
different from who they were before and meet under different circumstances. It’s
also made very clear that only the parents are being reincarnated, while the
souls of the children are staying in Heaven to wait for the day in which the parents
die again. You’d think that the kids would want a second chance at life,
especially sense theirs were cut short. What’s worse is that Chris tries to convince
his wife that Heaven doesn’t offer the same thrill of falling in love, and that’s
the only explanation given as to why they get reincarnated at the end. I just
find it really hard to except that after battling the pain and struggles of
Hell to save the soul of his wife, the two would be so willing to push their
place in Heaven away and start life over again. It just makes the mother and
father seem very selfish when you think about it. Now to be fair, there is a
deleted scene on the DVD that gives a far better explanation as to why they
should be reincarnated, but sense it was deleted, it doesn’t save this ending
from being another week spot in the movie.
I give “What Dreams May Come” 3 ½ stars out of 5.
