Two INTERPOL agents look into a mystery that takes the viewer through the US, Mexico, and Canada.
Written and directed by Whitney Horn and Lev Kalman, the story here is cut up into segments, or episodes, to create a sort of series within the film, an idea that somewhat works. This is one of those films where it’s hard to tell if the story really had any importance to the those behind it or if it is all done for the style alone. The IMDB description for the film says: “In this absurdist homage to 90’s basic cable TV thrillers, two hot INTERPOL agents uncover an international, interspecies mystery. A post-modern, soft-core fever dream.” While this may be the best way to describe the film to the filmmakers, it doesn’t quite feel absurdist and it doesn’t quite feel like a film, or even a parody or satire or a send-up of a film, it all feels like ideas thrown together with no real goal and trying a bit too hard to be style over substance. Yes, 1990s cinema was often all style and very little substance, but the stories didn’t try to lose the viewer along the way and the films were entertaining even at their, often seen, worst. Dream Team is one of those films some will of course adore, but this viewer (with a background in fashion, photography, and art studies) just could not get into it. The attention was lost early on and it was difficult to focus on the film as it seemingly had no real focus itself.
The cast here seems mostly lost or like they did not fully know their characters or the film they were in, further advancing the theory of style over substance from above. With basically zero characters that connected with this viewer, it’s difficult to differentiate them from one another. Not saying the cast is bad, but something feels off here. So instead of pointing out who was best or who stood out in any way, let’s just say that the performances fit the script and direction style, so they do work in their own way for this film.
The cinematography here should be commended here, or at least partially so. A few scenes and sequences are really beautifully shot and show a mastery of light and darkness, of framing, and a great knowledge of how to make a film look good. The work by Whitney Horn here us uneven, but the highs are really high and some of the beautiful frames are stunning. Unfortunately, the film is uneven on this, so it’s hard to fully love the style, or styles, used here.
Dream Team will undoubtedly find its audience, but this viewer is not it. The film didn’t work overall, but the cinematography had its moments, saving the whole from being completely frustrating.