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Cassandra's Dream [2008] [English] [Region 1]

1 disc
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

Woody Allen wrote and directed this London-set feature, a modern noir with black comic trimmings. Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor play working class brothers who dream of better things than their respective mechanic and restaurant jobs. Hard-drinking Terry (Farrell) has a weakness for gambling, while brother Ian (McGregor) hankers for the finer things when he starts dating a very ambitious actress (Hayley Atwell). Fate deals a hand when their rich American uncle (Tom Wilkinson) slinks into London with a murderous proposition.

Named for the boat the lads buy during a rare flush moment--a symbol of the morally compromising power of money and the inevitability, perhaps, of fate--CASSANDRA'S DREAM is another of Allen's loving looks at moneyed urbanites and their penchant for living out Greek tragedy, a la MATCH POINT and CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS. This time around, it's a bit darker, but with Farrell and McGregor in the leads, there's plenty of star power. The lads are clearly having a ball acting under Allen's direction, and they're allowed to develop a charming, rapid-fire fraternal rapport that carries the film--along with Wilkinson's old-school gravitas and Atwell's luminous charisma. Phillip Glass composed the score.
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- Rating - for thematic elements, some sexual material and brief violence
Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 81064
Credits

Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell, Tom Wilkinson, Sally Hawkins, Hayley Atwell
Critic Reviews

"CASSANDRA'S DREAM is pleasing to the eye, courtesy of cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond..."
Box Office
"A well-matched Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell play Ian and Terry, brothers in blood and deed....[Allen] has scarcely run out of ideas..."
New York Times
"This tale of two brothers wrenched apart when they act badly is really a testament to its stars, who in this film act very well, and with visible joy." -- Grade: B
Entertainment Weekly