Not being the biggest Woody Allen (Annie Hall, Match Point) fan myself, I’ve always felt that his movies lacked the overall substance I desire in my romances and dramas. Cassandra’s Dream is a movie I would never have given a chance when it was released back in 2007. Likewise, Colin Farrell (The Lobster, In Bruges) or Ewan McGregor (The Impossible, Incendiary) are not my biggest fans. Ferrell has grown on me by shedding his bad boy, box office revenue chasing persona, and doing more indies. I am surprised I even watched it. I’m grateful I gave it a chance after it was released. It was a nice, simple film that kept me entertained for the whole time.

Ian (McGregor) and Terry (Farrell) are brothers working and living in London. They own a dream of owning a boat so that they can take the love interests in their lives out on the water. Ian is dissatisfied with life. He is a bartender in his father’s restaurant who falls in love with an actress who is completely out of his league after he helps her fix her car while she is stranded on the side of the road. Angela (Hayley Atwell – Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: The First Avenger) offers her thanks to Ian by inviting her to the stage play that she’s currently starring in. Ian is instantly smitten. Ian is an honest man with big dreams. He aspires to leave his father’s business, move to the USA and invest in hotel properties in California. However, he understands that he doesn’t have the capital to do this. He also becomes a little obsessed with Angela (a common Woody Allen movie theme).

Terry, meanwhile, is a chain-smoking garage mechanic who has an equal addiction to hard nights of drinking as he does to gambling excessive amounts of money. Though he is equally unsuccessful as his brother, Terry at least is comfortable with his life. Bue, like Ian, he does dream of getting rich. He knows he won’t get there through hard work, though, so instead wagers his money at the dog track and the poker table. His girlfriend Kate (Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine, The Shape of Water) is supportive. However, it’s Kate and Ian who seem to bring the most happiness in Terry’s life.

The brothers purchase a small boat, which they name Cassandra’s Dream. It isn’t much, but it brings them both small respites of happiness. They take their girls out on the boat. It’s a simple life and one that would make most people happy. But Ian wants more. And soon, Terry needs more. He has had some success with his gambling (which allowed them to purchase the boat), but Terry becomes desperate when he loses $90,000 in one night. They meet up with their rich uncle (Tom Wilkinson – In the Bedroom, Michael Clayton). Uncle Howard has returned from a trip to Asia, and when his nephews approach him for money, he has a proposition for them. Uncle Howard has achieved his riches through fraud, and one of his colleagues has discovered this. When he tells Howard he is about to rat him out, the rich uncle feels he needs to take this man out. He will give Ian and Terry the money they need if they kill his colleague.

This is a simple plot and a script that Allen could have written in his sleep. There are many moral dilemmas in this movie. How can greed steer some of us? What are we capable of when in the most hopeless of situations? How do we deal with the guilt that we can’t escape?

Cassandra’s Dream is an easy watch. You can enjoy its light suspense without taking it too seriously. It’s fun watching Farrell and McGregor on screen together. I would have never considered watching it 10 years ago, but now that I’ve broadened my interests, I am glad I gave it a chance. If you like Woody Allen films, you’ll like this one. If you don’t like Woody Allen films, you might not. I think I still might give it at least 20 minutes, though, if you find it coming across one of your cable channels.

Plot 8/10
Character Development 8.5/10
Character Chemistry 8.5/10
Acting 8.5/10
Screenplay 8.5/10
Directing 8.5/10
Cinematography 8/10
Sound 8.5/10
Hook and Reel 8/10
Universal Relevance 7.5/10
79.5%