Dreams In Nightmares spoiler free mini review
First thing I want to highlight is that Black beauty, love, and relationships of respect and resilience are at the forefront in this Los Angeles truth bomb of a story. There’s so much to unpack from the very beginning, starting at the opening credits.
The music starts slow but hits hard with pauses that linger, then attacks until an explosion of past, present, and future collapse into each other.
It’s a fantastic setup to what you will experience throughout the runtime of this well-paced 128-minute diary.
It follows a writer who recently lost her job as a teacher for a Cal State University, all while navigating the very nuanced polyamorous relationships she’s in. Both professionally and romantically.
The themes of finding one’s true identity through what we have perceived as dreams or nightmares, but are often the pathway we stray away from because it’s a direct reflection of who we try to mask or manipulate to fit society.
Life can be messy, very messy. But also beautiful and exciting. All of that glorious spectrum is explored from the lenses of the main character Z, played by Denée Benton, and her group of friends played by Sasha Compère, Charlie Barnett, Mars Storm Rucker, Dezi Bing, and Jasmin Savoy Brown, respectively.
The group of friends go on a road trip and find refuge, reconnecting, and rediscovering. This is where the film digs deep into their differences that make them one, all while simultaneously dragging the audience along.
Why dragging? You ask!
We are thrown into their world of sex, partying, raucous poetry, etc., as each stop is an entry into the diary that is life. The queer experience is on full display in all of its spectrums and is unapologetically raw in its truth.
Each scene breathes with an aura that pulls you in while holding back just far enough to not disrespect the conviction expressed by the artist on display.
Dreams in Nightmares isn’t a film I didn’t expect to see representing me as a viewer, but it does. It’s the Black Experience in all of its forms, and it’s beautiful.
Through trauma lands understanding.
Through pain lands power.
Through love lands peace.
Through community lands family.
Dreams In Nightmares RELEASING IN
NEW YORK AUGUST 21 & LOS ANGELES AUGUST 28
EXPANDING WIDE IN SEPTEMBER
8/10
