--- title: "Dream Scenario: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/dream-scenario/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/dream-scenario" critics_score: 76 critics_reviews: 23 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Dream Scenario (2023): what the critics said Critics' score 76 from 23 reviews: 19 positive, 4 mixed, 0 negative. Critics agree almost unanimously on one thing: Nicolas Cage. Nearly every review, from the festival raves to the cooler notices, singles out his restrained, vanity-free turn as the drab professor who starts appearing in strangers’ dreams, and several call it among the best work of his career. The premise draws warm words too, with the dream sequences praised for folding horror into comedy without any soft-focus reverie. The reservations cluster in the second half. A sizeable minority find that once the dreams turn nightmarish the film narrows into a satire of cancel culture they consider shallow or scattershot, and the ending is a common complaint. The Evening Standard goes furthest, judging that the satire runs out of ideas after a lively first hour, and the Los Angeles Times and Vulture make similar points about a bland or narrow-minded turn. The spread is fairly narrow, with no outright negative reviews, and the dissenters admire the same performance everyone else does. ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich Rating A-. 9 September 2023. Festival review. The critic calls it Borgli's funniest and most complete film yet, a hilariously surreal comedy about internet fame with a committed Cage performance. The high-concept premise and surreal comedy are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/dream-scenario-review-nicolas-cage-1234904231/) ## Slant Magazine Rating 3.5/4. 12 September 2023. Festival review. The critic praises the absurdist setup allowing Cage to flex his acting muscles in hilarious directions and the emotional core he provides. The meta satire on meme status, cancel culture, and fame is engaging though unfocused at times. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/dream-scenario-review-nicolas-cage-kristoffer-borgli/) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Rating Critics Pick. 10 September 2023. Festival review. The critic hails it as ranking among Cage's best in a career of over 100 credits, with the actor making the most of a memorable role in this brilliant look at viral celebrity. Borgli approaches the surrealist premise in a singular mix of comedic and sinister tones. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/dream-scenario-nicolas-cage-1235719078/) ## Empire — John Nugent Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2023. The review calls the film an enjoyably absurd comedy with Nicolas Cage brilliantly playing a mediocre man thrust into fame via collective dreams. It praises the surreal dream sequences, satirical targets, and Cage's peak performance in a psycho-comic-drama that turns existential. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dream-scenario/) ## Little White Lies — Mark Asch Rating 3/4/3. 8 November 2023. The review calls it a bitterly funny, Kaufman-esque satire of meme culture and the desire for recognition, praising its sharp take on branding and public projection. It notes the film is easy to enjoy but harder to remember long-term. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/dream-scenario) ## The New Yorker Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 13 November 2023. The critic praises the film as one of Cage's most fulfilling ventures, allowing him to trade richly in the unforeseen as a lecturer who appears in strangers' dreams. It is welcomed for its matter-of-fact approach to switching between reality and reverie without dreamy visuals. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/11/13/priscilla-movie-review-dream-scenario) ## Time Out — Whelan Barzey Rating 4/5. 9 November 2023. The critic praises the dark, doolally satire as a giddy showcase for a bang-on-form Nicolas Cage, highlighting its needle-sharp observations on fame and cancel culture in the social media age. It notes some loss of rhythm from a tacked-on sci-fi subplot but overall calls it the best kind of cheese dream. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dream-scenario-2023) ## Total Film — James Mottram Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 November 2023. The critic highlights Nicolas Cage's restrained, vanity-free performance as the unremarkable professor who becomes a dream phenomenon, leading to a wickedly funny satire on social media and fame. The film is praised for replicating surreal dream sequences and shifting to a darker third act with Kaufman-esque elements. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/dream-scenario-review/) ## The Independent Rating 3/4. 8 November 2023. The critic praises Nicolas Cage's shift to a drab, schlubby professor whose sudden fame in others' dreams turns sour, highlighting the film's exploration of fame's dark side. The review notes the premise starts strong but leads to a funny, sad, and scary conclusion about obscurity being underrated. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ap-nicolas-cage-cage-fame-dad-b2444161.html) ## Vulture — Alison Willmore Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 2023. The critic says the film starts as a funny, thoughtful look at living in public but falters by turning into narrow-minded cancel-culture satire. Cage's performance as the dignity-demolished academic is singled out as the saving grace. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/movie-review-nicolas-cage-in-new-comedy-dream-scenario.html) ## The AV Club — Luke Y. Thompson Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 9 November 2023. The critic finds it an entertaining high-concept trip thanks to a committed Cage performance but notes it squanders potential to be more, remaining surface-level with predictable satire. The thin story and arbitrary fame metaphor are the main complaints. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/dream-scenario-film-review-a24-nicolas-cage-1850975045) ## Film Comment — Saffron Maeve Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 27 November 2023. Borgli's satire on celebrity, cancel culture and public perception starts strongly with its absurd premise and Cage's performance but grows uneven and tonally dissonant in the second half, with less focused mockery than his prior work. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/review-dream-scenario-kristoffer-borgli-nicholas-cage/) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 9 November 2023. The critic calls Cage pure nightmare fuel in a grabber premise reimagining A Nightmare on Elm Street by way of Charlie Kaufman, with rich metaphysical implication and memorable staging of the dreams. It notes the film morphs into a bland satire of cancel culture to its detriment. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-11-09/dream-scenario-review-nicolas-cage-a24) ## Evening Standard — Sophie Monks Kaufman Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 2023. The critic finds the first half entertaining thanks to Cage's absurd performance but deems the satire shallow overall, criticizing its scattershot approach to ideas like cancel culture. Nicolas Cage is singled out as the film's main strength, buying it goodwill despite running out of ideas. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/dream-scenario-nicolas-cage-review-b1119038.html) ## Screen Daily 10 September 2023. Festival review. The review calls the pitch-black satirical horror-comedy an ambitious interrogation of masculinity, cancel culture, social media and celebrity, tailored for an A24 audience. It highlights Borgli's interest in neurotic protagonists and Cage's fitting approach to the oddball role. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/dream-scenario-toronto-review/5185768.article) ## Sight and Sound 9 November 2023. The critic describes a surreal satire in which an unremarkable professor becomes an involuntary viral sensation by appearing in strangers' dreams, then faces backlash when the dreams turn nightmarish. It singles out Nicolas Cage's casting and performance for effectively conveying the gap between public image and private self. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/dream-scenario-nic-cage-man-everyones-dreams-this-surreal-satire-online-exposure) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 11 November 2023. Cage gives a deliciously peevish performance as a graceless professor who gains viral fame by appearing in strangers' dreams. The film is a savagely funny showcase for Cage at his best but sours in the third act when it targets cancel culture. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/11/dream-scenario-review-nicolas-cage-is-at-his-very-best-in-savagely-funny-comedy-kristoffer-borgli) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Michael Rechtshaffen 10 September 2023. Festival review. The critic hails Cage's performance as comedy gold in a gleefully dark social satire skewering the click-driven world of insta-celebrities and cancel culture. The standout element is Cage's master class in reactive comic acting as the whiny victim protagonist. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/dream-scenario-review-nicolas-cage-1235586583/) ## The New York Times — Jeannette Catsoulis Rating Critic's Pick. 9 November 2023. The critic finds the film a wonderfully weird dark comedy in which Nicolas Cage plays a mild-mannered professor who inexplicably appears in others' dreams. Borgli infuses the screenplay with sadness that highlights the character's need for recognition, as the story turns darker when the dreams become nightmares. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/09/movies/dream-scenario-review.html) ## The Telegraph 9 November 2023. Cage delivers his best performance in years as a nightmarishly ordinary professor who appears in people's dreams. The clever black comedy scores highly on Cage deployment but is not fully satisfying overall. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/dream-scenario-review-nicolas-cage/) ## The Times 10 November 2023. Cage charms in a surreal satire about a university professor who becomes an overnight online celebrity. The comedy tackles cancel culture and victimhood but the actor’s portrayal brings light relief. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/dream-scenario-film-review-nicolas-cage-nkzkvd2mx) ## HeyUGuys — Lisa Giles-Keddie Rating 5/5. 10 November 2023. The critic calls it a darkly comedic delight and a career highlight for Cage, praising its absurdly funny take on the subconscious, fame, social media, and cancel culture. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/dream-scenario-review/) ## Den of Geek — David Crow Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 20 November 2023. Cage delivers one of his strangest and best performances as an unremarkable man thrust into viral fame and then infamy through others' dreams, in a cruelly funny fable about cancel culture and public projections. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/dream-scenario-nicolas-cage-strangest-and-best-performances/) ## Digital Spy — Ian Sandwell Rating 4/5. 10 November 2023. Cage gives a restrained, awards-worthy turn as the ordinary professor at the center of a viral phenomenon in this hilarious satire of social media and cancel culture that occasionally loses focus in the final act. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a45731413/dream-scenario-review/) ## Collider — Ross Bonaime Rating B. 14 September 2023. Festival review. The film is a dark comedy exploring fame and how celebrity alters people, anchored by one of Nicolas Cage's funniest performances. Borgli's intriguing concept allows creative exploration but falters with larger statements and ends on a confusing note. [Read the review](https://collider.com/dream-scenario-review/) ## /Film — Matt Donato Rating 7.5/10. 25 September 2023. Festival review. The critic finds it a provocative hallucinogenic experiment on viral infamy and cancel culture that showcases Borgli's originality, but notes it loses some storytelling control as seriousness overtakes the premise. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1403591/dream-scenario-review-nicolas-cage/) ## Paste — Katarina Docalovich Rating 7.5/10. 9 November 2023. Borgli expands into surrealist horror-comedy with a hilariously scary ride about viral fame and cancel culture. The film loses some singular vision in the final stretch by derailing into less original influencer satire and weakening the ending. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/nicolas-cage/dream-scenario-review) ## Consequence Rating B-. 10 November 2023. Cage entertains the cerebral and silly in equal measure as a nobody professor thrust into viral fame through dreams. The deviously absurd fable about fleeting fame has a shaky focus that doesn't fully damper its charms. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2023/11/dream-scenario-review-nicolas-cage/) ## Eye for Film — Andrew Robertson Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 2023. The critic views it as classic small-scale science fiction with strong performances, especially Cage's restrained turn, and clever nods to cultural zeitgeist, while noting it could be more focused and its social commentary perspective debatable. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/dream-scenario-2023-film-review-by-andrew-robertson) ## Polygon — Rafael Motamayor Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 November 2023. The film offers a meta, poignant exploration of Cage's meme status through a goofy Nightmare on Elm Street prequel premise about unintended viral fame and its costs. The hilarious and poignant two-thirds are let down by an ending that doesn't fully land amid third-act issues. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23868824/dream-scenario-review-nicolas-cage-meta-movie/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond 10 September 2023. Festival review. The critic hails the film as a flat-out hilarious comedy with an ingenious premise that stretches a one-joke idea into a satisfying feature. Cage delivers a pitch-perfect everyman performance that carries the laughs, while Borgli is praised as an exciting new comedy talent. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2023/09/dream-scenario-review-nicolas-cage-comedy-hysterical-role-toronto-film-festival-1235542583/) ## The Wrap — Martin Tsai 10 September 2023. Festival review. The critic calls the film immensely entertaining with original and funny dream sequences that effectively mix horror tropes into comedy, and praises Cage's dialed-down performance. It singles out some muddled internal logic and a strawman argument against cancel culture as drawbacks. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/dream-scenario-review-nicolas-cage-kristoffer-borgli/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/dream-scenario.md