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The lives of two brothers spiral out of control when their wealthy uncle asks them to commit a crime in exchange for cash.

At the beginning of Woody Allen’s Cassandra’s Dream, working class brothers Ian (Ewan McGregor) and Terry (Colin Farrell) go in together to buy a boat, slightly over-extending themselves to do so. Their family business (a restaurant) is doing poorly and Ian is forced to help his father run it, but dreams of investing in a hotel in California to make his fortune.  Terry is much more down to earth, spending his time at the track and hoping to gamble his way to enough money to buy a new house for him and his girlfriend Kate (Sally Hawkins). A good run of luck at the track gives him enough money to pay off the boat, but that luck soon sours in a high stakes poker game which leaves Terry up to his eyes in debt to the local loan sharks.

Meanwhile, Ian has met a gorgeous actress named Angela (Haley Atwell), who seems interested in him, but is frustratingly keeping her options open. Ian spends a good deal of money wooing her, trying to look like the big time player he wants to be. This could very well kill his opportunity to invest in the California hotels. The two desperate brothers turn to their favorite uncle for help.

When approached for a loan, kindly Uncle Howard (Tom Wilkinson) makes a counter offer instead of simply agreeing to a handout.  A business associate on one of his foundation boards is scheduled to testify against him, which would send him to jail for a good long time.  Howard asks the boys to ‘take care of him’ in exchange for the rather large sum of money.

Both brothers balk at the suggestion, but they come around to the idea. The money would solve all their problems.  There are a few false starts, but eventually they get the deed done, even after accidentally meeting the man face to face at a party, a moment that unnerves them both.

The act definitely weighs heavier on one of the brothers, and as the scott-free getaway begins to slip between their fingers, you realize that the worst is yet to come. Nothing is going to be as easy as they once thought.

I really enjoy the European crime drama angle that Woody has taken with films like this and Match Point. He manages to get a decent acting job out of Colin Farrell, although there are moments where I definitely thought that he could’ve been reined in a little more.

Cassandra’s Dream is all about the lives we desperately try to make happen, sometimes at a terrible cost.  Ian was so smitten with his new girl, who barely seemed to care that he was lavishing his attentions on her, that he didn’t bother to think about what he was doing. He’s all too happy to go for the quick fix.

My only real quibble with the film is that the ending felt rushed. We’ve enjoyed something of a leisurely pace for most of the film, letting things play out in their own time, then the climax happens very suddenly and we’re done; it had a completely different tone than the rest of the film.

Cassandra’s Dream features no bonus material aside from about four trailers, and is well worth a look for fans of the Woodman, the actors involved or someone who wants a well-acted little morality play.  This is a very solid film, give it a look.

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