Film Review – Dreams

February 26th, 2026 | POSTED BY Allen Almachar

Dreams (2025) is the kind of movie that keeps us guessing. Whether that is a good or bad thing will be up to the viewer. The trailer would have us believe that this is an erotic thriller with themes of immigration and privilege sprinkled in. While it certainly has those elements, the narrative is so elusive that we never get a good grasp of what it’s trying to say about anything. It constantly takes us for a spin, moving in different tangents that we don’t see coming, ultimately landing at a place that leaves us with a bad taste in our mouths. Granted, the sense of spontaneity is a welcomed way of keeping us invested in what comes next. But “What Comes Next” is where the issues arise. This is a movie that has a lot on its mind, but I’m not sure it successfully translates those ideas on screen.

Writer/director Michel Franco has traversed these waters before. I’ve only seen one other film of his: New Order (2020). In it, he takes a bombastic approach to class struggle – taking a high-society wedding as a trigger point for all out violence and mayhem. Some of those concepts are transferred here, but Franco utilizes a much more restrained and methodical style. This is a quiet, slow-burn story, about two characters in a relationship that gradually turns toxic in the face of their backgrounds and power dynamic. Jennifer (Jessica Chastain) comes from a wealthy San Francisco family, who uses her influence for philanthropy and socially conscious projects. Fernando (Isaac Hernández) is a highly talented ballet dancer from Mexico. When we first meet them, Jennifer and Fernando are in a highly charged sexual affair. Their bond is so intense that, in the opening minutes, we watch Fernando sneak across the U.S./Mexico border and hitchhike his way to the bay area just to be with Jennifer.

At first, we would think that this is about two people on opposite ends of the spectrum, who try to stay together despite the danger of illegal immigration and class difference. And while it may be that at first, Franco’s writing and direction has other plans. Resentments and tiny micro aggressions creep their way from the edges. Jennifer tries to help Fernando, first by having him enter a dance company, then by becoming a ballet instructor to new students. But her unwillingness to let him into her inner circle of family and friends, and the trouble Fernando faces with racism and constant threat of deportation, creates a rift that steadily grows between them. Soon enough, we find the two in a back and forth of hostility and lust. Alternating between San Francisco and Mexico City, we watch them getting into each other’s pants or barely able to be in the same room together. Tensions escalate the further along we go, to the point where their relationship becomes one of bitterness and manipulation.  

Stylistically, Franco (along with Yves Cape’s cinematography) shoots Dreams with wide to medium angles. We see characters mostly from the waist up, and there are very few instances where the camera pushes in for a close up. There are no big, dramatic movements, everything feels restrained and controlled. Outside of the frame panning from side to side, most of the visuals are held in static two shots. The tone is minimalist by design. Although Franco structures the atmosphere in grounded, quiet realism, there are a few times where he allows more fantastical elements. One scene, in which Jennifer visits her Mexico City residence and fantasizes about a sexual rendezvous she had with Fernando, seemingly comes out of nowhere. For a movie that feels so subdued and naturalistic, the scene sticks out almost as if it was shoehorned in.

Jessica Chastain and Isaac Hernández deliver performances that are consistent with the overall tone. Their delivery is quiet and methodical. When they do have outbursts of emotion, it hits with major impact. The issue is that their characters are drawn so that we never get a good understanding of their emotional state. They are clearly attracted to one another, as we get plenty of hot and heavy love making. And yet, they will turn around and do the cruelest things to one another. They’ll push each other away and then a few scenes later can barely control themselves from ripping their clothes off. It could be argued that most relationships have ups and downs, where love and animosity are shared in equal measure. That is not the case here. There is a masochistic factor at play in how the two allow themselves to be mistreated in such severe fashion. Neither Fernando nor Jennifer come across as likeable people. Even when they exude admirable characteristics, they can also be cold hearted and nasty. The more extreme their actions become, the less I became invested in their story. The third act, in which their behavior enters the realm of no return, felt like the narrative flew right off the rails.

That is where Dreams comes up short. Although I appreciated Franco’s stylistic choices, as well as Chastain and Hernández’s commitment to their respective roles, I came away detached with what the film was offering. This doesn’t have much to say about immigration or class struggle, nor does it have any deeper insight into relationships and the power play between the two main characters. The drama isn’t compelling, and the sex isn’t all that interesting. This sits right in between an earnest story of broken love, a trashy melodrama, and a twisted psychological thriller. The problem is that it doesn’t fully dive into any of those genres.

I was more perplexed with Dreams than anything else. It certainly has its qualities, but I found the overall result oddly lacking. The narrative meanders around its topics, never really addressing them in a satisfactory way. It has the look and polish of something substantial, but when the end credits rolled we are left empty handed.

Dreams, Isaac Hernández, Jessica Chastain, Michel Franco, New Order, Yves Cape