Nicolas Cage in a comedy about digital capitalism

There is no sadder story in the world than an obsessive dream. Especially if Nicolas Cage comes to you in this dream. This is the opinion of the A24 studio and the Norwegian Kristoffer Borgli, who with its help created his film “The Hero of Our Dreams,” who previously became famous in festival circles with a film under the exhaustive title “Sick of Myself.” “The Hero of Our Dreams” is being released in Russia.

Text: Vasily Stepanov

Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) is a boring university professor who explains to his students the paradoxical evolutionary mechanisms and adaptive strategies in nature. For example, how stripes that are clearly visible on the savannah actually help a zebra not stand out. The professor himself cannot be called noticeable either: a typical bald head, a typical unkempt beard, a gentle character draping accumulated irritation, glasses, checkered shirts, sweaters of non-marking colors and gundezh – even in the bright sunlight on campus he is invisible. Either it’s at night. In the darkness, Paul Matthews gains some meaning – he appears to others in dreams. And not only to friends, ex-girlfriends or family members, but also to complete strangers. No, Paul, of course, doesn’t particularly scare anyone, because in life he’s not some kind of Freddy Krueger, but just Nicolas Cage. In the dream, the professor does not really do anything, and the phenomenon at first seems harmless. At least until it begins to be effectively supplemented by the mechanisms of social networks, where the fame of Matthews coming in a dream spreads with unprecedented speed. Gradually, the professor becomes a background character in everyone’s life, an Internet meme, a popular accordion, and, over time, a nightmare and a curse for those sleeping.

It cannot be said that the topic of sudden fame falling on an ordinary character or the viral spread of not very important information has not been raised by cinema before. This started before the Internet. Anecdotes on this topic were made by Zoltan Fabri (his “Mr. Teacher Hannibal” talked about the nature of fascism), Woody Allen (in his “Roman Adventure” Roberto Benigni suffered from sudden fame) and Matteo Garrone (remember his “Reality” about reality show). The curious twists and turns of Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman’s Being John Malkovich also inevitably come to mind. However, it seems that no one before Kristoffer Borgli – he is 39 years old, and, one might say, he grew up on Kaufman – has applied the functionality of omnipotent, praising anything and canceling anyone social networks to this topic.

“The Hero of Our Dreams” certainly continues the line taken by Borgli in his previous film “Sick of Myself” (2022). That Norwegian story about a girl who did everything to stand out from the crowd was included in the Cannes program “Un Certain Regard” and was so kindly received by critics that the producers of A24 considered it best for Borgli, who has a specific sense of humor, to direct his own script: Ari Aster from the director’s post went to the producers of the film, and Nicolas Cage got the main role instead of Adam Sandler.

For Cage, any film is nothing more than just a dream, which he easily enters as if it were his home. And this great artist, a walking meme in himself, the curse and treasure of any film in which he finds a place, seems to be the main problem of “The Hero of Your Dreams.” Not because Cage is bad, but because cinema cannot offer anything comparable to him in terms of scale. Is he too big for a Black Mirror-type joke? Borgli’s film attracts at the start, diligently intrigues and becomes boring closer to the middle, and in the finale its course begins to weigh down significantly. In the end, the concept dissolves like bubbles in sparkling wine left until the morning. Perhaps the fact is that Borgli is simply unable to offer a denouement comparable in originality to the beginning – a critique of digital capitalism, which is ready to turn any free space, even dreams, into a place for advertising, smacks of petty topics. Alas, the same problem is with dreams, which often end in the most depressing way.

However, even without fully satisfying the viewer with perfect dramaturgy, “The Hero of Our Dreams” is able to awaken the imagination. After the session, you inevitably begin to think about what an interpretation of such a story about a wandering meme using domestic material could look like. For example, what would a film be like about a real witness from Fryazino, who moves to different parts of Russia every time he is copied into a new setting? It would be a good idea to advertise domestic tourism. However, why speculate about Fryazino when the Leiden Zhdun will appear on screens in the foreseeable future? There’s not long to wait.

In theaters from March 14

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