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—— Alyce Kills May 24

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—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31
89% The East May 31

Cassandra's Dream (2007)

tomatometer

46

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Reviews Counted: 116
Fresh: 53 | Rotten: 63

Colin Farrell and Tom Wilkinson act up a storm in Cassandra's Dream, but Woody Allen's heavy-handed symbolism and foreshadowing drains the plot of all tension.

38

Average Rating: 5.5/10
Critic Reviews: 34
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 21

Colin Farrell and Tom Wilkinson act up a storm in Cassandra's Dream, but Woody Allen's heavy-handed symbolism and foreshadowing drains the plot of all tension.

audience

49

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 121,372

My Rating

Movie Info

Director Woody Allen continued to work in the dark mold of his 2005 thriller Match Point with this suspenseful tale of two brothers (Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor) transformed into mortal enemies after scheming to alleviate their financial difficulties by turning to crime. Ian (McGregor) and Terry Blaine (Farrell) are two Cockney siblings whose lives seem to have simply fallen apart. While hard-drinking auto mechanic Terry lives with his girlfriend, Kate (Sally Hawkins), and suffers all the

May 27, 2008

$0.9M

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All Critics (119) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (56) | Rotten (63) | DVD (10)

Farrell and McGregor bring much to their roles...to make Cassandra's Dream an effective and chilling ride.

February 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Toronto Star
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's enough to make you pine for the good old days -- back when life was only partly ironic and Woody was totally funny.

February 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail
Globe and Mail
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These characters not only don't talk like working-class Londoners, they don't talk like anyone.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Slate
Slate
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The problem is, you don't feel the human sweat and strain in Cassandra's Dream, despite game work from Farrell and McGregor. There are plenty of ideas and themes and no people of distinctive interest to enliven them.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Allen is notorious for not giving his actors explicit instructions, and yet somehow this worked wonders for Farrell, who has never seemed so naked, so clear and so unencumbered as he does here.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Although McGregor and Farrell produce some occasionally spirited moments, particularly in the earlier scenes, they are little more than walking and talking schemes, their choices based entirely on socioeconomic impulses.

July 16, 2008 Full Review Source: Washington Post
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

By no means is this lukewarm drama Woody Allen's worst work, but it's no dream, either.

September 4, 2009 Full Review Source: Times-Picayune
Times-Picayune

Everything is utterly disengaged

August 27, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion
CinePassion

Cassandra's Dream is, in fact, not the worst film in the Woodman's oeuvre. But it does tend to underline his weaknesses.

February 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Jam! Movies
Jam! Movies

Woody Allen still insists on making movies at the rate of one a year, but he clearly needs to slow down. A lot.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK]
Guardian [UK]

Disappointing, badly overwritten drama from Woody Allen, rendered almost unwatchable by dreadful Cockney accents from McGregor and Farrell.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: ViewLondon
ViewLondon

At this point, I guess we should just applaud Allen for his work ethic.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle

By the time the blokes played by McGregor and Farrell get around to confronting their misdeeds, they're the only ones who care.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News

Although all the performances are remarkable, the actors can't break free from the too neat-and-tidy script.

October 18, 2008
Palo Alto Weekly

A clumsy, clichéd morality play that may actually represent the lowest point of Allen's recently chequered career.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine
Empire Magazine

Audience Reviews for Cassandra's Dream

If Woody Allen was trying to capture the magic of his dark crime drama Match Point once again, he sure didn't do it here. That's a shame too, because this had a lot of potential.

The film follows two cash strapped brothers played by Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell who agree to kill a business associate for their wealthy uncle played by the always reliable class act Tom Wilkinson. There's also love going on as well, with Hayley Atwell being the main attraction for McGregor. Though she got major exposure later in Captain America: The First Avenger, she proves quite appealing here, too.

The main plot wouldn't be so bad had this not been released around the same time as Sidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead- a much similar, but far superior crime thriller. Also, though the film skirts around it, it ultimately fails to live up to the hope of fully incorporating the ideas from the folklore figure Cassandra the ignored doomsayer.

The film is shot extremely well, looks gorgeous, and has some great music, and, while it is fun to see the two male leads interact, none of the performers really bring their A game, and that includes Allen. The lack of heart and soul to the proceedings is quite obvious, and ultimately this comes off as less of an earnest effort and more of just something Allen made just to fulfill his pattern of releasing at least one film a year.
January 15, 2008
cosmo313
Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

I have never been a fan of Woody Allen films, but the last couple that I have seen have surprised me...I can actually say that I have liked them. Hmmmm. Go figure. I have noticed, however, that fans of Woody Allen films have not. Maybe this is a new era for him. Hope so...This movie has some great acting, especially from Colin Farrell, and a decent storyline. Reminds me of a Hitchcock type of film.
August 19, 2012
itsjustme2004

Super Reviewer

    1. Father: What the hell do you need a boat for? And how are you gonna pay for it?
    2. Ian: It's secondhand.
    3. Father: So you're buying someone else's headaches.
    – Submitted by Ehsan T (12 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Le Rêve de Cassandre (FR)
  • El sueño de Casandra (ES)
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