Dreamland

After impressing as Michael Gray in Peaky Blinders, British actor Finn Cole finally gets to prove his leading man chops by starring alongside Margot Robbie in Dreamland.

Set in a small Dust Bowl town in Texas in 1935, Dreamland follows the story of local teenager Eugene Evans (Cole), who decides to go on the hunt for wanted bank robber and suspected murderer Allison Wells (Robbie) to collect the handsome reward to help his family survive the drought.

It turns out he doesn’t need to look very far – the wounded Allison has been hiding out in his family’s barn. After nursing her gunshot wound and falling for her seductive charms, Eugene, the stepson of the deputy sheriff, becomes torn between helping and capturing the fugitive.

Dreamland is impressive to look at, thanks to its Depression-era dust-covered landscapes, but there’s not much going on under the surface. It had the potential to be much more, but Nicolaas Zwart's shallow script doesn't allow it to be anything other than conventional.

The film is narrated by Eugene’s younger sister Phoebe (played as a child by Darby Camp) 20 years later (voiced by Lola Kirke) and it seemed like a cool technique at first but it wasn't employed to the greatest effect and ultimately felt rather unnecessary.

The movie has been described as a thriller but it hardly ever levels up from your run-of-the-mill crime drama to become exciting or thrilling. In fact, not much happens for a substantial chunk of the movie as it focuses on Eugene and Allison's blossoming relationship while she's recovering in the barn. More action comes in the second half but it's a classic case of too little too late, and the finale, which should have felt dramatic and poignant, made barely an impact at all.

Robbie, who also produces, is as captivating and alluring as always, so she was perfectly cast as the charming Allison, and she thankfully lets Cole take the limelight and prove he has what it takes to be a leading man. He was particularly impressive towards the end when Eugene has his morals tested and he gives an emotional performance.

Although they were strong as individuals, their romance never managed to convince. That’s mostly down to the screenplay, as the twists and turns of their love affair didn’t feel earned or ring true and it was hard to buy it.

Dreamland is a pleasant enough watch and Robbie and Cole are well-cast leads, but it was frustrating because it had the potential to be so much better.
In cinemas from Friday 11 December.