Movie review: I’ll See You in My Dreams

Blythe Danner brings quiet strength and suspended sexual energy to the role of a widow polished to a fine shine by life in Brett Haley’s drama that proves you can fall, and get up again

I’ll See You in My Dreams

3/5

Starring: Blythe Danner, Martin Starr, Sam Elliott, Malin Akerman, June Squibb, Rhea Perlman and Mary Kay Place

Directed by: Brett Haley

Running time: 92 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13

By Katherine Monk

There is a quiet kind of joy in watching Blythe Danner play the role of Carol in I’ll See You in My Dreams, Brett Haley’s new movie about old people.

In fact, the very essence of the film’s pleasure lies in its ability to be quiet, because so many movies talk constantly, and say nothing.

Perhaps it’s a function of youth to flap the gums in a blind fury, mostly fuelled by fear – fear of being misunderstood, fear of looking stupid, fear of not being accepted by one’s peers, and fear of not being in the latest, trend-worthy loop of chatter.

How else to explain the half-conversations overheard in every bus, subway and schoolyard punctuated by the words “like,” “I mean” and “seriously?”

With an ambient dialogue track as dreary as this, it’s no wonder older people feel a little out of place and irritated by the modern modes of communication that demand button-pushing and unflattering camera angles. They still remember the good old days when human relationships depended on touch, well-chosen words and eye contact.

Certainly Carol (Blythe Danner) is in no hurry to play catch-up with the current reality. A widow who lives a controlled and relatively content life in a quiet LA suburb with her dog, Hazel, Carol has created order out of a happy routine.

She goes to the golf club to lunch with her girlfriends (played by June Squibb, Rhea Perlman and Mary Kay Place). She has coffee by the pool, reads the New York Times, drinks a glass of wine and goes to bed. It’s comfort through repetition.

Director Haley reaffirms the routine in the opening sequence, ensuring we know Carol is on autopilot. There’s a hint of melancholy, but it feels natural, until we’re hit with a heart-wrenching scene within the first ten minutes.

Carol has to say goodbye to her dog, and while that’s a truly awful way to start any movie, it pushes the first domino against the next, prompting a slow, elegantly arranged chain reaction that takes us all the way to the very finish.

Once Carol’s routine is broken, there’s room for her to explore new people and new places, which is exactly what happens.

First, she meets Lloyd (Martin Starr), a pool maintenance guy with a warm layer of charm on top of a dark, frigid well of self-loathing. Lloyd lives with his mother, and feels his life is spiraling into nothing, but he has a sharp sense of humour that makes him hilarious to watch on-screen, and a perfect foil to the fully round Carol.

Polished by experience and eager to get along, Carol is a human ball bearing making her way through the pinball machine of life, and Lloyd turns out to be the flipper who sends her back on deck, where she encounters a variety of lights, buzzers and bells.

The big ringer is Bill (Sam Elliott), a man who never married but clearly had a good time with the ladies. Bill thinks Carol is the kind of woman he could finally settle down with, but Carol isn’t looking to upset the granny cart of her life.

She likes the predictability of being alone, but she’s willing to explore, and that’s the quality that makes her a thoroughly empathetic screen heroine. Danner’s natural warmth infuses the frequent silence with something warm and familiar, and slightly apple pie in tone.

At times, Haley goes a little too far into the beige parts of the palette, and inexplicably dresses Carol in shower curtain florals that don’t match the character, or her jazz past.

The best scenes are the ones featuring Danner and Starr because the interaction feels awkward and unscripted. Laden with weird energy that streams everything from repressed Oedipal urges to frat-buddy bonding, these are the moments that really make the film stand out.

Haley doesn’t push these scenes. He lets the silences hang over the two actors, and forces us to watch the expressions shift, ever so slightly, from ego-fear to friendliness. It’s a subtle brand of drama, but it feels appropriate given life’s defining moments have already worn soft at the edges, and happiness in the moment has replaced ambition.

@katherinemonk

-30-

Review

User Rating

5 (2 Votes)

Summary

3Score

I’ll See You In My Dreams – Blythe Danner stars as a widow reconciled to life in the slow lane in this new movie about old people from Brett Haley (The New Year). Danner does a lovely job in the role of Carol, but it's the scenes with co-star Martin Starr that really make this movie stand out because they feel fresh, and just a little unpredictable, injecting a strong dose of emotional suspense into a frequently bland potion of old-gal pastiche. Three stars out of five. – Katherine Monk

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