6.5/10 “Dreamland” is filled with dreamy aspects to draw you in but whose story falls too closely with “Bonnie and Clyde” and similar films to allow it to achieve greatness. Most of the film works well with the always reliable Margot Robbie giving a tremendous performance that sucks you in. You aren’t sure if you can trust her character or not but you are still so enamored with her that you’ll go along with what she says. The rest of the cast is great too with no weak links in the chain but Robbie steals the show. The production design and costume design, along with the props and locations really transport you back in time to The Great Depression era. The visual effects showcasing the devastating dust storms look real so the little special effects used in the film do their job well. This is one of the best film scores of the year as Patrick Higgins does a phenomenal job with his music. The editing and cinematography are rather standard but get the job done. Most of the technical aspects along with the aforementioned terrific acting are top notch. The emotional elements as provided by the script overall work to make us feel for these characters as they struggle during one of the toughest points in American history. As for the story, the film starts a tad slow and relies heavily on narration early on but once it gets going the pacing drastically improves. The lovers as bank robbers on the run plot line has been done before so despite some minor deviations, this story isn’t breaking any new ground. I also had a little trouble with how quickly the romance in the film developed, particularly from Robbie’s character (although she may have been faking it, the audience is lead to believe it to be genuine). As much as the overall story may have let me down, I was still entertained and fascinated from start to finish, making this a film I would still recommend. The emotions are there, Robbie is a powerhouse and I want to go listen to the film’s soundtrack just because it was that strong. If you keep your expectations in check with the story being a bit recycled, there is still a lot to enjoy with the film so take a journey to this land of dreams from where ever you are able to view it.
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