Dream Scenario slowly blurs real and fake. Just like the characters around Paul, we lose sight of the actual man versus the imagined man. This is a problem for Paul, since the world’s dreams of him eventually morph into nightmares. Suddenly, he’s not watching the killer; he is the killer, and he’s a terrifying presence to all haunted by this at night. Again, Paul seems bewildered. In one moment, he’s about to sign a deal with a hip firm headed up by a savvy brand manager (Michael Cera) while flirting with a genuinely interested young assistant (Dylan Gelula); in another, he’s on the verge of cultural cancellation, pushed to pivot his image toward a kind of alt-right provocateur, while his wife is considering separation.
Crucially, though, the panic of those around Paul is not mocked. Borgli resists depicting a bunch of Gen Z clichés ruining a man’s life for no reason. We see these students’ terrifying visions play out, and thus intimately understand their fears. “I wanted them to feel actually traumatic and horrific,” Borgli says. “Both in the lived life and in the dream life, it was always about taking things seriously.” By avoiding any real, contentious issues—the stuff that tends to inflame the cancel-culture debate in academic settings, like language and censorship—Dream Scenario turns almost anthropological, a lab experiment of shifting attitudinal tides. This is the way Borgli works cinematically. This being his first English-language film marks a real accomplishment, given his intricate if brash handling of specifically American discourse. But go back to his Oslo-set breakout, Sick of Myself, and you’ll see a familiar, deadpan skewering of contemporary fame and its mechanisms.
On Dream Scenario’s roller coaster of virality and ostracization, Paul’s simple goal is for his extremely niche academic work to be taken seriously—to find an audience. He never gets close. This doomed endeavor signals another personal element for Borgli. His father was a professor who felt similarly underappreciated for his work; the idea of him in Paul’s predicament made the director laugh, which in turn inspired the character. “He would’ve struggled to navigate a sudden viral fame, a modern way of fame—I don’t think he would understand the dynamics, and I think he would fumble it, similar to Paul,” Borgli says. “And this is from Norway—it wasn’t a very America-specific idea. But of course, the level to which you can both get the attention and the pile-on—that feels very American.”
Paul, meanwhile, is hardly so hemmed in by his nation’s customs. He crosses borders like a schlubby cultural myth; he’s known anywhere and everywhere, just like his portrayer. In Dream Scenario, we watch Cage haunt a 20-something’s nightmare like a killer on the loose, then we watch him pouting back in the real world, after the same 20-something chooses to abandon his class out of fear. Cage goes from a Freddy Krueger–toned cutout, imposing and larger than life and deadly silent, to a middle-aged sad sack, subdued and neurotic and unable to speak his mind. “No one could have done that better,” Borgli says. The performance in Dream Scenario is constantly shape-shifting, fearlessly funny and technically impressive—the thrilling arc of a star who’s lived in our heads, through many different personas, for a very long time.
Dream Scenario premieres Saturday at the Toronto International Film Festival, before hitting theaters on November 10 via A24. This feature is part of Awards Insider’s exclusive fall-festival coverage, featuring first looks and in-depth interviews with some of this coming season’s biggest contenders.
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