Cassandra's Dream

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Cassandra's Dream

PG-13

2008

1h 48m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

46%

Tomatometer

117 Reviews

49%

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100,000+ Ratings

Life is good for the Blaine brothers, at least for the moment. Ian (Ewan McGregor), a restaurateur, is in love with a gorgeous actress (Hayley Atwell) ; and Terry (Colin Farrell) wins big at the dog track and buys a yacht. Their luck soon changes when Terry's loan sharks come calling. The brothers ask their wealthy Uncle Howard (Tom Wilkinson) for a loan, which he is happy to provide in exchange for one little favor: Kill a whistle-blowing colleague.

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Critics Consensus

Colin Farrell and Tom Wilkinson act up a storm in Cassandra's Dream, but Woody Allen's heavy-handed symbolism and foreshadowing drains the plot of all tension.

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Linda Barnard

Toronto Star

Farrell and McGregor bring much to their roles...to make Cassandra's Dream an effective and chilling ride.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 6, 2009

Full Review

Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

It's enough to make you pine for the good old days -- back when life was only partly ironic and Woody was totally funny.

Rated: 2/4

Feb 6, 2009

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Steve Rose

Guardian

Woody Allen still insists on making movies at the rate of one a year, but he clearly needs to slow down. A lot.

Rated: 1/5

Oct 18, 2008

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Dan DiNicola

The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)

It's not Dostoyevsky, but neither is it a shopworn trifle. It is, if you will excuse the literary metaphor, a good read.

Mar 22, 2021

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The storyline is habitual territory for Allen, mixing average, down-on-their-luck people with criminal opportunities for remediation.

Rated: 6/10

Nov 28, 2020

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Farrell flexes his acting muscles by offering a more vulnerable performance than one might expect.

Rated: 2.0/4.0

Sep 5, 2020

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Scott E

Woody Allen's movies have gone way downhill. They used to be funny, now they are about people doing dirty deeds.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/14/25

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Alain E

A very Hitchcockian story about two brothers without strong moral moorings who break the law and eventually find a sad ending. Tom Wilkinson, as the bad uncle, instigates the crime and suffers no consequences in the end. Very well acted by the main players.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/29/25

Full Review

thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é mais ou menos, o elenco é fraco e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/04/25

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Cali M

I don’t get all the bad reviews. It’s well written and acted, and I have to keep turning it off because it’s so intense and …predictable? Maybe I’m an idiot, but I didn’t foresee the end. Good film. I prefer Midnight in Paris, but you can’t compare the two films. I’d recommend it to my friends, absolutely

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/11/24

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Alexsander F

Um bom filme para se passar o tempo, um filme ruim de Woody Allen consegue ser melhor do que qualquer outro filme que seja "mais ou menos".

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/24

Full Review

Jeff M

If this isn't the darkest movie Woody Allen has ever made, it's gotta be in the top three or four. There is no comic relief here at all, so detractors of Allen's serious films should avoid at all costs. In fact, the drama and tragedy here feel almost Shakespearean at times. I'm giving the film a lukewarm recommendation, but a couple issues keep it from being the success for which I was hoping. As intriguing as the premise is, this isn't one of Allen's better screenplays, and the characters feel more like stereotypes than living, breathing people. But the biggest hurdle is the casting of McGregor and Farrell who never convince us for a moment that they are brothers. Neither give a performance that will highlight their resumes - Farrell in particular seems to struggle in the more intense moments of the film. Overall, there is enough good here to recommend - but just slightly.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/18/24

Full Review

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Woody Allen

Director

Ewan McGregor

Ian Blaine

Colin Farrell

Terry Blaine

Hayley Atwell

Angela Stark

Tom Wilkinson

Uncle Howard

Sally Hawkins

Kate

Cassandra's Dream: Official Clip - Worried About Terry

1:59

Cassandra's Dream: Official Clip - Committing Murder

2:24

Cassandra's Dream: Official Clip - Close Call

2:43

Cassandra's Dream: Official Clip - Would You Sleep With a Director?

2:02

Cassandra's Dream: Official Clip - Blood Is Blood

2:49

Cassandra's Dream: Official Clip - We Broke God's Law

2:11

Cassandra's Dream: Official Clip - Erotic Tension

2:03

Cassandra's Dream: Official Clip - Real Trouble

1:43

Cassandra's Dream: Official Clip - She's a Beauty

2:08

Cassandra's Dream: Official Clip - Roadside Assistance

2:13

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Synopsis

Life is good for the Blaine brothers, at least for the moment. Ian (Ewan McGregor), a restaurateur, is in love with a gorgeous actress (Hayley Atwell) ; and Terry (Colin Farrell) wins big at the dog track and buys a yacht. Their luck soon changes when Terry's loan sharks come calling. The brothers ask their wealthy Uncle Howard (Tom Wilkinson) for a loan, which he is happy to provide in exchange for one little favor: Kill a whistle-blowing colleague.

Director: Woody Allen
Producer: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, Gareth Wiley
Screenwriter: Woody Allen
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Production Co: Wild Bunch, Virtual Films
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexual Material|Brief Violence|Thematic Elements)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 18, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $969.6K
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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