"DREAMLAND" // TRIBECA 2019 FILM FESTIVAL
Director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte's new Dustbowl Era Western drama DREAMLAND is now playing at the Tribeca Film Festival and is a dreamy, thrilling nod to all of the Westerns that came before it. We are led into the film by a voice over, performed here by an unseen Lola Kirke, as Phoebe Evans. She's looking back at her life 20 years ago and telling us about the unforgettable drought filled Summer that was also marked by the sudden appearance of a bank robber, fugitive Allison Wells (Margot Robbie). Her half-brother Eugene's (Finn Cole) father disappeared and his mother remarried Phoebe's father. Eugene spends his days messing around town with a friend and stealing dime store Detective Stories, dreaming of placing himself into one someday. Well, that day comes sooner than he though with the appearance of Allison Wells. The Sherriff announces a bounty for anyone who can catch the fugitive, and since his family desperately needs the money, he decides to find her himself. Unbeknownst to him, Allison has hidden herself in his family’s barn and desperately needs some medical attention from a gunshot wound in her leg. He finds her, and she immediately disputes the claim that she's a killer, while fully acknowledging that she did indeed rob that bank. Is she lying to get him to trust her, playing him like a fiddle? Or is she a girl who truly needs someone to hear the truth? Either way, he falls under her spell and they launch into their very own Detective Story.
Cinematographer Lyle Vincent shoots the film with a poetic beauty and it truly is a stunning film to behold. The two leads are dynamic throughout, grasping onto a strong chemistry between them. Margot Robbie plays her bank robber with a mysterious grace, never allowing Allison to be a simple cut and dry character. She's a complicated mess and shines every time she's on screen. Finn Cole, fresh from Peaky Blinders, is equally great here, playing Eugene with a striking innocence that is undercut slowly as the film moves along with the burning sensation that his life needs to be more than it is. Darby Camp, as the young version of Phoebe, plays the childlike innocence perfectly and is consistently believable. As the parents, Travis Fimmel is a complex man, full of intensity and rage yet you feel that there's something hiding behind all that anger. And Kerry Condon turns in a strong supporting performance as Eugene's doting and caring Mother.
Dreamland is a stunning throwback film, one that moves with an intended ease, letting the tension, mystery, and romance sneak in at its own pace. You may not want to live in this town, but you'll be glad that you drove through it.
GRADE: A-
WRITTEN BY Nicolaas Zwart DIRECTED BY Miles Joris-Peyrafitte STARRING Margot Robbie, Finn Cole, Travis Fimmel, Kerry Condon, Garrett Hedlund, Darby Camp. Playing as part of the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. For more information: http://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/dreamland-2019