Author: Ryan Cole
“The Dream”
Directed by Lee Daniels
Written by Geoffrey Fletcher
Edited by Chris Innis and Bob Murawski
Cinematography by Andrew Lesnie
Costumes by Joanna Johnston
Score by John Williams
Featuring the original song “My Dream” written and performed by Janis Ian
Cast:
Marjorie Johnson………..Viola Davis
Ben Johnson……………….Terence Howard
Tessa Franklin……………Phylicia Rashad
Irene Lawrence…………..Kerry Washington
Bill Cobb…………………….Hal Holbrook
Gladys Washington……. Cicely Tyson
Tagline: She had a dream to see Dr. Martin Luther King
Synopsis: Marjorie Johnson is just a usual 60’s housewife. Her husband, Ben, works at the local colored mechanic shop. He makes enough so his wife only has to work two days a week as a domestic. Marjorie spends her day’s day dreaming of a better life. She knows that as long as she stays with her abusive husband then none of her dreams will come true. The film opens on August 20th, 1963. Marjorie is hard at work cleaning the dishes that her employers had messed up eating their breakfast. She keeps gazing out the window until she is broken out of it by Mr. Smith’s booming voice. He says, “Can you believe this Negro is going to give a speech in Washington D.C. I swear this Martin Luther King needs to just shut his trap.” That’s when the idea popped into Marjorie’s head: I’ll travel to Washington D.C. to hear Dr. King’s speech.
When she gets home to tell Ben the great news she finds Ben drunk and complaining about the house being dirty. She tells him that today she had to work, but he wants none of the excuses she’s giving and begins to beat her. Once the fight is over she slowly makes her way to the bathroom and stares at her swollen, bruised face in the mirror. The next scene we see Ben sitting in his chair, smoking a cigarette and laughing at the television. Suddenly, an empty beer bottle crashes against the side of his head breaking into a million pieces. He turns in his chair to see Marjorie standing holding the neck of the broken bottle in her hand. “Don’t you ever touch me again. Now, I just wanted to let you know that I’m taking the car because I’m going to Washington to hear Dr. King give a speech.” Ben tells her “Woman you crazy. You’z a black woman in the south. You won’t make it out of the state of Alabama before being pulled over by the police.” Marjorie knew what he said could happen because it had been all over the news how many Negro drivers were being pulled over. It was a chance she just had to take. She slowly made her way to the bedroom and packed her suitcase. Marjorie jumped in her car and off she went to hear Dr. King give his speech.
This is the beginning of “The Dream.” We follow Marjorie’s harrowing weeklong journey as she first meets Tessa Franklin, an elderly black hitchhiker, trying to hide from something. It isn’t long before the police catch the women and Tessa is taken forcibly out of the car. The police impound Marjorie’s car. Forced to hitchhike her journey continues. Along her journey she gets accosted by two white men while she tries to sleep under a tree during a rain storm and she meets Irene, a young woman trying to get home to Virginia to see the love of her life. The women stop at a town just outside the Virginia state line and it is here that the sweet Irene falls prey to a man with evil intentions. Irene is beaten to death and left behind a bar room building. Left emotionally devastated, Marjorie continues her dream journey and makes it half way across Virginia before meeting homeless man Bill Cobb. Bill is nice to Marjorie and offers her a campfire to sleep next for the night. Bill and Marjorie slowly become friendly and it isn’t long before Marjorie is asking Bill his story. Bill tells Marjorie his emotionally gripping story of love and tragedy. When Marjorie wakes up she finds Bill gone. Back on the road again, it is the day before Dr. King’s speech and she is about to give up hope when a car pulls along side her. An elderly woman named Gladys offers her a ride. Gladys is a spitfire and makes Marjorie laugh. The two share laughs and a sandwich before reaching Washington D.C. The women check into the motel together, sharing a room. They stay up talking about each other’s lives. It is here that Gladys tells her that her dream was to see her people free. She tells her how she’s waited 85 years to see tomorrow come and she can’t wait to be a part of history. This story brings tears to Marjorie’s eyes. The two women fall asleep. When Marjorie awakes she finds that Gladys passed away peacefully in her sleep. She mourns her newfound friend before going to the Lincoln Memorial to hear Dr. King’s speech. As the speech is read Marjorie finds the strength within herself to start a new life up North and to follow her heart again. In the final scene of the film, Marjorie goes to a phone booth to call her husband and he begins to yell at her ordering her to come home. Marjorie waits till he finishes before saying, “You go straight to hell because I am NEVER coming home. Goodbye Ben.” She hangs up the phone and we see a big smile on her face for the first time.
Awards Campaign:
After bursting into film goers hearts with his film, “Precious,” Lee Daniels takes the audience through a moving and heart felt journey of woman’s dream in the incredible, moving film “The Dream.” Geoffrey Fletcher brings his unique writing ability to this project, a pet project of his, that proves his Oscar win was no fluke. Unlike any other road trip film, this one has thriller like moments because we have no idea if this Black woman will make it out of the South alive to achieve her dream of hearing Dr. King’s speech or not. The Audience is also left to wonder if the main character will return home to her abusive husband or not throughout much of the film. We hear Marjorie saying how much she misses her husband and the familiar touch of his hand across her face. It’s enough to send shivers down ones spine. The cast is full of veterans who are at the top of their game. Kerry Washington plays the heartbreakingly sweet character Irene who is trying to get back home to Virginia to see the love of her life one more time before he is sent off to Vietnam. Washington breaks your heart as she pours her characters sweetness and naivety into every scene she’s in. Phylicia Rashad is spellbinding as Tessa, the hitchhiking woman with a secret. In one of the most gut wrenching scenes, Tessa is pulled from the car in a devastating manner. Miss Rashad delivers a chilling monologue before trying to escape and being shot. Hal Holbrook delivers his best performance since “Into the Wild.” Mr. Holbrook should have Oscar applauding with his beautiful, tearful speech of inter racial love in the early 1900’s and how it all ended tragically. Cicely Tyson as Gladys brings a phenomenal performance to the screen. Miss Tyson’s heartbreaking Motel scene where she explains to Marjorie how she has outlived all her children and how white people killed most of them will bring the audience to their knees. The cherry on top of this film sundae is the heroine Marjorie played to perfection by Viola Davis. Davis brings a quiet, understated beauty to the character of Marjorie. She delivers two powerful scenes in the film. One is where she tries to save Tessa from being killed and the other is a tour de force scene where Marjorie is sitting in the rain in tears thinking about how Irene was murdered. She cries out “Why Lord? Why? Why?” This film is extraordinary and critics are sure to sing its praises as Lee Daniels brings one of the most complex and intricate films of this year lovingly to the screen. It is one of the most emotional films and it is the BEST film of the year.
FYC:
BEST PICTURE
BEST DIRECTOR-LEE DANIELS
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BEST ACTRESS-VIOLA DAVIS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR-HAL HOLBROOK
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-CICELY TYSON
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-KERRY WASHINGTON
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-PHYLICIA RASHAD
BEST AWARDS CAMPAIGN
BEST CAST
BEST CREW
BEST PLOT/SYNOPSIS
BEST TAGLINE
“The Dream”
Directed by Lee Daniels
Written by Geoffrey Fletcher
Edited by Chris Innis and Bob Murawski
Cinematography by Andrew Lesnie
Costumes by Joanna Johnston
Score by John Williams
Featuring the original song “My Dream” written and performed by Janis Ian
Cast:
Marjorie Johnson………..Viola Davis
Ben Johnson……………….Terence Howard
Tessa Franklin……………Phylicia Rashad
Irene Lawrence…………..Kerry Washington
Bill Cobb…………………….Hal Holbrook
Gladys Washington……. Cicely Tyson
Tagline: She had a dream to see Dr. Martin Luther King
Synopsis: Marjorie Johnson is just a usual 60’s housewife. Her husband, Ben, works at the local colored mechanic shop. He makes enough so his wife only has to work two days a week as a domestic. Marjorie spends her day’s day dreaming of a better life. She knows that as long as she stays with her abusive husband then none of her dreams will come true. The film opens on August 20th, 1963. Marjorie is hard at work cleaning the dishes that her employers had messed up eating their breakfast. She keeps gazing out the window until she is broken out of it by Mr. Smith’s booming voice. He says, “Can you believe this Negro is going to give a speech in Washington D.C. I swear this Martin Luther King needs to just shut his trap.” That’s when the idea popped into Marjorie’s head: I’ll travel to Washington D.C. to hear Dr. King’s speech.
When she gets home to tell Ben the great news she finds Ben drunk and complaining about the house being dirty. She tells him that today she had to work, but he wants none of the excuses she’s giving and begins to beat her. Once the fight is over she slowly makes her way to the bathroom and stares at her swollen, bruised face in the mirror. The next scene we see Ben sitting in his chair, smoking a cigarette and laughing at the television. Suddenly, an empty beer bottle crashes against the side of his head breaking into a million pieces. He turns in his chair to see Marjorie standing holding the neck of the broken bottle in her hand. “Don’t you ever touch me again. Now, I just wanted to let you know that I’m taking the car because I’m going to Washington to hear Dr. King give a speech.” Ben tells her “Woman you crazy. You’z a black woman in the south. You won’t make it out of the state of Alabama before being pulled over by the police.” Marjorie knew what he said could happen because it had been all over the news how many Negro drivers were being pulled over. It was a chance she just had to take. She slowly made her way to the bedroom and packed her suitcase. Marjorie jumped in her car and off she went to hear Dr. King give his speech.
This is the beginning of “The Dream.” We follow Marjorie’s harrowing weeklong journey as she first meets Tessa Franklin, an elderly black hitchhiker, trying to hide from something. It isn’t long before the police catch the women and Tessa is taken forcibly out of the car. The police impound Marjorie’s car. Forced to hitchhike her journey continues. Along her journey she gets accosted by two white men while she tries to sleep under a tree during a rain storm and she meets Irene, a young woman trying to get home to Virginia to see the love of her life. The women stop at a town just outside the Virginia state line and it is here that the sweet Irene falls prey to a man with evil intentions. Irene is beaten to death and left behind a bar room building. Left emotionally devastated, Marjorie continues her dream journey and makes it half way across Virginia before meeting homeless man Bill Cobb. Bill is nice to Marjorie and offers her a campfire to sleep next for the night. Bill and Marjorie slowly become friendly and it isn’t long before Marjorie is asking Bill his story. Bill tells Marjorie his emotionally gripping story of love and tragedy. When Marjorie wakes up she finds Bill gone. Back on the road again, it is the day before Dr. King’s speech and she is about to give up hope when a car pulls along side her. An elderly woman named Gladys offers her a ride. Gladys is a spitfire and makes Marjorie laugh. The two share laughs and a sandwich before reaching Washington D.C. The women check into the motel together, sharing a room. They stay up talking about each other’s lives. It is here that Gladys tells her that her dream was to see her people free. She tells her how she’s waited 85 years to see tomorrow come and she can’t wait to be a part of history. This story brings tears to Marjorie’s eyes. The two women fall asleep. When Marjorie awakes she finds that Gladys passed away peacefully in her sleep. She mourns her newfound friend before going to the Lincoln Memorial to hear Dr. King’s speech. As the speech is read Marjorie finds the strength within herself to start a new life up North and to follow her heart again. In the final scene of the film, Marjorie goes to a phone booth to call her husband and he begins to yell at her ordering her to come home. Marjorie waits till he finishes before saying, “You go straight to hell because I am NEVER coming home. Goodbye Ben.” She hangs up the phone and we see a big smile on her face for the first time.
Awards Campaign:
After bursting into film goers hearts with his film, “Precious,” Lee Daniels takes the audience through a moving and heart felt journey of woman’s dream in the incredible, moving film “The Dream.” Geoffrey Fletcher brings his unique writing ability to this project, a pet project of his, that proves his Oscar win was no fluke. Unlike any other road trip film, this one has thriller like moments because we have no idea if this Black woman will make it out of the South alive to achieve her dream of hearing Dr. King’s speech or not. The Audience is also left to wonder if the main character will return home to her abusive husband or not throughout much of the film. We hear Marjorie saying how much she misses her husband and the familiar touch of his hand across her face. It’s enough to send shivers down ones spine. The cast is full of veterans who are at the top of their game. Kerry Washington plays the heartbreakingly sweet character Irene who is trying to get back home to Virginia to see the love of her life one more time before he is sent off to Vietnam. Washington breaks your heart as she pours her characters sweetness and naivety into every scene she’s in. Phylicia Rashad is spellbinding as Tessa, the hitchhiking woman with a secret. In one of the most gut wrenching scenes, Tessa is pulled from the car in a devastating manner. Miss Rashad delivers a chilling monologue before trying to escape and being shot. Hal Holbrook delivers his best performance since “Into the Wild.” Mr. Holbrook should have Oscar applauding with his beautiful, tearful speech of inter racial love in the early 1900’s and how it all ended tragically. Cicely Tyson as Gladys brings a phenomenal performance to the screen. Miss Tyson’s heartbreaking Motel scene where she explains to Marjorie how she has outlived all her children and how white people killed most of them will bring the audience to their knees. The cherry on top of this film sundae is the heroine Marjorie played to perfection by Viola Davis. Davis brings a quiet, understated beauty to the character of Marjorie. She delivers two powerful scenes in the film. One is where she tries to save Tessa from being killed and the other is a tour de force scene where Marjorie is sitting in the rain in tears thinking about how Irene was murdered. She cries out “Why Lord? Why? Why?” This film is extraordinary and critics are sure to sing its praises as Lee Daniels brings one of the most complex and intricate films of this year lovingly to the screen. It is one of the most emotional films and it is the BEST film of the year.
FYC:
BEST PICTURE
BEST DIRECTOR-LEE DANIELS
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BEST ACTRESS-VIOLA DAVIS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR-HAL HOLBROOK
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-CICELY TYSON
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-KERRY WASHINGTON
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-PHYLICIA RASHAD
BEST AWARDS CAMPAIGN
BEST CAST
BEST CREW
BEST PLOT/SYNOPSIS
BEST TAGLINE