A journalist looking for the story to bring her career back on track finds out a newly arrested woman is refusing all interviews, so she makes it her goal to meet her and write her story.
Written and directed by George Tsouris, Condemned Dreams is a crime drama that is heavy on philosophy and life discussions. While this may not sound like it would work, it does. The story works well; the discussions work well within the context at hand but also in general. The way this is brought to the screen is decent with a few pacing issues unfortunately. A tight script and a tighter edit would have made this film even better than it is now. As it is, it should appeal to fans of the genres it finds itself in should enjoy this film.
The cast here is good with a few performances standing out above the rest. Soft Abilez stands out throughout the film as the strongest performance, the one that seems to have prepared the most to give her character depth and layers, to make Shy someone the audience would want to spend some time with even though she may have a very dark side. Her performance is magnetic and a mesmerizing at times. A few character moments feel a bit off but that may just be a script issue or a viewer issue. The lead here is actually Catherine Parish as Lauren and she does well with the part, her acting works, her choices fit the character, and it all works well for the story. However, she does sort of get eclipsed by Abilez. The rest of the cast is decent with a few hiccups here and there, but generally, everyone is giving their best.
The cinematography and lighting are quite decent here, something that was an issue on Tsouris’ previous film and that seems to have been looked into and fixed for this feature. The images are well shot, the framing works in the great majority of the scenes, and the lighting shows a better understanding of light sources and how to adjust for changing lights. The film is still quite low budget so the decor and set dressing do show this quite a bit, but they are not bad. The budget does have limitations so some of the locations are not as good as the other, giving the film an slight uneven look and feel, but it doesn’t take away from the story.
Condemned Dreams is a good indie with some minor issues mostly due to budgetary limitations. The story works decently, the direction as well, and the cast has some true standouts. There is a lot being discussed here and it takes what could have been a basic criminal and journalist connecting story, it becomes more than “what crimes have you done?” and goes into deeper territory which is appreciated by this viewer. This indie is worth seeking out for a decent watch, some deep thoughts, and some entertainment.