MUBI brings you a great new film every day.  Start your 7-day free trial today!
Watch a new film every day for $4.99.
Try MUBI for FREE.
 

Dreams of a Life

United Kingdom, Ireland

2011

90 Min
Color
English
  • Currently 3.2/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

   |   

DIR Carol Morley

EXEC Katherine Butler, Tabitha Jackson, Paul McGowan, Andre Singer

PROD Cairo Cannon, James Mitchell

SCR Carol Morley

DP Mary Farbrother, Lynda Hall

CAST Zawe Ashton, Alix Luka-Cain, Jonathan Harden, Daren Elliott Holmes, Ki'juan Whitton

ED Chris Wyatt

PROD DES Chris Richmond

MUSIC Barry Adamson

SOUND Christopher Wilson

London (New British Cinema), SXSW (Festival Favorites), Karlovy Vary (Another View)

Synopsis

In 2006 a woman’s skeleton was found in a flat above Wood Green Shopping Centre, London. When the housing trust that owned the flat broke down the door and discovered her, they found the TV on, and the heating and lighting too. The woman, identified as Joyce Carol Vincent, had been dead for three years. Dreams of a Life is a quest to discover who Joyce Vincent was, and how she came to be so forgotten. Filmmaker Carol Morley (Edge, The Alcohol Years) set out to track down people who had known Joyce, and to piece together their recollections and versions of Joyce. Like a detective, Morley builds a multi-layered portrait of a woman who was attractive, lively and popular, but who also had an air of mystery, a secretive side. Using direct testimonies, dramatic reconstructions and glimpses of her own research, Morley draws us deep into Joyce’s world, albeit a world where some mysteries still remain. She also makes us think about what kind of society we live in, how someone could fall so completely out of view. This is a sad and intriguing story, told with imagination and care. –BFI

Wall

Displaying 4 of 8 wall posts.
Picture of lolo341

lolo341

28Apr13

Rest in peace, Joyce Carol Vincent.

Picture of Budd

Budd

27Feb13

If you're going to do a film with dark undertones, do it with charm or skill. This had neither.

Picture of Nathan.

Nathan.

15Jun12

It was an interesting theme and concept, but really dragged on a bit, could have been much better if it was more concise. But it still leaves you with the message it wants to leave you with, so I guess in some ways it achieved what it set out to do.

Picture of suddenmoves

suddenmoves

20Apr12

No one in this terribly sad documentary realised that our modern, disconnected life could have such tragic consequences. A powerful, moving cautionary tale.

lolo341 likes this

Related Films

Fans

Displaying 5 of 25 fans.

Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

BFI London Film Festival 2011

By David Hudson on October 12, 2011

Here’s where we’ll be gathering news and reviews from this year’s edition.

read article

Lists

Displaying 5 of 18 lists.

Reviews

No reviews yet — Write the first

Forum

Displaying 0 discussion topics.