The feature film Life Could be A Dream follows forty-year old woman, Sarah, and her teenage son Otis, as she tries to leave her abusive husband. The movie opened with visuals of Sarah struggling in slow motion underwater in her wedding dress, an effective metaphor for her drowning in her marriage, setting up the premise for the story ahead.
The abuse was seen through Sarah’s eyes and memory, which I thought was an impactful and meaningful way to tell this story. The focus wasn’t on what he did to her, but her realising that he wasn’t who she thought he was, he wasn’t her Mr Darcy. As an audience member we were given a lens so intimate, it felt like we could read Sarah’s every thought without a single word being said. Actress Maeve Demody performed our main character with flawless authenticity, expressing heartbreaking emotions through the smallest of expressions. The close relationship created between the character and viewers allowed us to witness how domestic violence can truly and relentlessly haunt a person.
This intimacy lent itself to the simplicity of the plot. While aspects of the film appear mundane, it is anything but boring. We observe Sarah’s struggle to maintain a sense of normality for her son Otis, while also protecting him, and her trying to keep them afloat without letting Otis know she is struggling. Sarah is doing her best to ensure Otis in unaffected, but there are moments where lines from Otis show how he has been influenced by his father; seeing Sarah’s face in those moments was sad to watch, knowing she was silently hurting and regretting not being able to leave sooner.
I thought the film excellently conveyed a sense of discomfort in flashbacks of scenes between Sarah and her husband, altering colour grading, sound and camera angle to communicate something was off in the relationship and the way her husband treated her. One scene that I thought was particularly clever was a memory of when Sarah and her husband met; as they talking in a swimming pool, the water started to lap over the camera lens, causing me to feel unsettled. I liked how effective this was in linking back to the beginning drowning scene, subtly visually indicating that this was only the beginning.
Water was poignant uniting thread throughout this film. Sarah turned to the water to soothe herself, although she often slipped into memories that triggered her, as water was so intertwined with her relationship. However, as Sarah and Otis create distance from their past with domestic violence, the water is reclaimed as something that can be enjoyed again. For example, we see Otis and his new friend play in the pool and sprinkler at the end of the film. The final scene feels symbolic, as mother and son head into the surf together.
I thought this film was visually effective, a true display of the care that went into the movie. The scenes felt curated and well thought out, with a good balance between the past and the present. I thought the motif of water, and shots of characters through windows and glass were impactful too. The visuals acted as a powerful storytelling tool that worked in harmony with the strong acting performances. I felt that the story was approached and handled with delicacy, recognising abuse that is often goes unseen and is invalidated in real life. As a woman, I believe it is meaningful that the domestic violence is seen through Sarah’s eyes, as the focus was on how it impacted her and her becoming disillusioned, rather than what was done to her.
Life Could be A Dream will reach theatres nationwide on May 14th.
Reviewed by: Eleanor Edwards