What dreams may come

Annie (a painting conservator) and Chris (a paediatrician) barely recover after the tragic loss of their two children when Chris is fatally wounded in a car accident. Shortly afterwards he experiences life on the ‘other side’, aided by Albert (Cuba Gooding Jr), a spiritual guide who steers Chris through the psychological impediments that hinder acceptance of his death. When Annie commits suicide and goes to hell, Chris follows, risking his own eternal presence in heaven, to save her. “What dreams may come” won an Academy Award for its special effects but most critics found the film too preternaturally mawkish and sentimental to be taken seriously as a work that ponders the portentous issues of metaphysics and spirituality. Heaven is depicted as Impressionist paintings come to life; Hell is a vision akin to the horrific Gothic vision of Hieronymus Bosch. But impressive as the film’s aesthetics are, an over-reliance, indeed emphasis, on computer generated wizardry, robs it of any dramaturgical import. Additionally its over-determination to reunite the nuclear family stultifies any dramatic intentions and demands inordinate absurdity from the narrative.