Starring Skyler Samuels and Kapil Talwalkar
***SPOILER ALERT***
Grace (Samuels) makes her living temping but dreams of being a writer. She’s had recurring dreams of a handsome stranger, who she learns is named Michael (Talwalkar), and she feels an undeniable connection to him. Far away in Dream Central, Alura (Cecilia Lee) works as a dream consultant, constructing people’s dreams. To her horror, she’s accidentally inserted Michael into Grace’s dreams. This goes against Dream Central’s rules: all dreams must be created from the subject’s memories only, or ripple effects will upset the natural order. Alura and her boss, Harvey (David Rosser), track down Grace to try to convince her to let them erase her memories of Michael, as forgetting him is supposedly the only way to restore order. However, Grace and Michael have already become inseparable.
PROS
I had high expectations for this movie, as the script was co-written by Marcy Holland, who was credited with A Biltmore Christmas (2023). I couldn’t help hoping that My Dreams of You would have the same romantic magic and whimsy that Biltmore did.
The leads (somewhat). Samuels and Talwalkar made Grace and Michael a compatible pair. Both felt trapped in their situations, which gave much of this movie a somber tone. Grace found temping frustrating and unsustainable, and she was discouraged by her inability to find a publisher for her book. And Michael, although he was performing as a musician, had resigned himself to ultimately working at his father’s distribution center. Both actors were likeable, but their performances felt too subdued and a bit flat. The tango scene could have developed the chemistry early on, but it lacked passion and was badly filmed, with lights glaring behind the actors. One scene did add a bit of the elusive magic otherwise absent from this movie, and that occurred when the couple was sitting by the river and Michael was working on his song. He said that if their paths hadn’t crossed, part of him would always be looking for her. This sentiment was something he’d also expressed to Grace in a dream, and sweetly, he incorporated it into his song. And the kiss during the downpour that followed was undoubtedly the highlight of the film.
Alura. As portrayed by Lee, Alura added a dash of much-needed warmth to this movie. The world outside of Dream Central was new and exciting to her, and I smiled as she stroked a cat for the first time and savored her first slice of apple pie. She was also the one Dream Central character who was on Grace’s side and objected to erasing her memories of Michael.
CONS
You might argue that the filmmakers should be commended for creating something so radically outside the box for a Hallmark movie, but despite its pros, My Dreams of You didn’t work. It was bizarre and confusing, even nightmarish. It holds the distinction of being the first Hallmark movie I’ve thought was sinister.
Well, that was all rather silly and pointless . . . Harvey was in a panic to persuade Grace to allow her memories of Michael to be erased, something she initially resisted. Then Harvey argued that not wiping out her memories would alter the natural course of things, and her being with Michael would destroy his music career. Grace fell for Harvey’s rubbish and consented, which I couldn’t believe she’d do; she cared too much about Michael, and love and career needn’t have been mutually exclusive—they could have had both. And if Grace and Michael were destined for one another anyway, as Harvey himself insisted they were, what was the point of trying to erase her memories? It wouldn’t have stopped them from being together. Talk about illogical.
The nightmarish stuff. Think about it: someone’s pursuing you with the intent of erasing your memories. Attempts at mind control are creepy, and they felt out of place in a Hallmark movie. It was cruel that Dream Central wanted to remove Grace’s memories of Michael. Memories can provide so much pleasure, and Grace treasured hers. And when she no longer knew Michael when they bumped into one another (this happened twice, once after she failed to meet him at the restaurant and was about to get into a cab, and again at the end), this struck me as extraordinarily sad. On a related note, apparently Michael didn’t know Grace at the end of the movie? This didn’t make sense, since his memories of her should have been intact. It was nice that they found one another again, but the ending would have been much happier if the story she shared about him and the song he sang about her had triggered them to remember each other.
Dream Central. The place was populated with workers who looked as if they’d stepped right out of the mid-twentieth century—I noticed retro hairstyles and fashions, including Alura’s saddle shoes. And they used outdated technology, such as videotapes. Except for Alura, the staff all seemed like severe, mindless worker bees. Dream Central was a weirdly unpleasant place.
My grade for My Dreams of You: D
Caroline Kaiser is a professional book editor who specializes in fiction and memoirs, and she’s been guiding writers toward publication since 2007. Caroline is also the author of two ghostly mystery novels, Virginia’s Ghost and The Spirits of South Drive. Before she embarked on an editing and writing career, she spent many years working in a Toronto auction house as an antiques appraiser. Apart from curling up on the couch and drinking tea as she watches Hallmark movies, Caroline enjoys baking and exploring London, Ontario, the picturesque city she now calls home. Her website is www.carolinekaisereditor.com.
