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The Dream Children (Australia)

By Golu
I feel so sad when there are stories with huge potentials but somehow their execution lacks that extra zing to take them to next level. As a result they end of being just a very average mediocre film. This is especially sad when the subject has potential. Stories that do exceptionally well on theatre need that extra love and care when being adapted for the big screen.

Set in early 2000's, this film shows the time when gay marriage or adoption for gay couples was still not legal in Australia. Steven and Alex are a couple but since Steven is a TV show host, he has to live a closeted life. But he goes around having meaningful sex with random strangers and is almost always horny. On the other hand, Alex wants more from the relationship and expand their family. Steven always ignores this but when Alex asks their architect to include a nursery in their new beach home which is being built, Steven sees the seriousness. But since they are legally not a couple, their chances of legally adopting. Through an ad, they meet a pregnant girl Nerine, who after a series of meetings decides to give them her baby for a lot of money. Life is gonna change. Alex is prepared for it but it takes time for Steven to enjoy being a father. But Nerine comes back with a drug addict boyfriend demanding her kid back and literally steals back the baby. Alex and Steven's life falls apart. To make matters worse, a sex video of Steven with his intern is made public and his career goes down the drain. Thankfully Nerine comes to senses and realizes that his drug addict boyfriend is just an abuser and calls back Alex and Steve to take the baby back alongwith her. Steven decides to change his direction in life and starts championing for gay marriage.

Firstly, this film came out in 2015 and somehow connecting with the subject matter of early 2000's made me hard for m to relate to the subject. The whole process of getting a child for adoption seems believable then, but not when you watch it today. And what about surrogacy? I mean a plenty of options have always been available, especially when you have a lot of money to spend. And then I felt that a couple of sex scenes were forced. Agreed, that some of them were due to emotional distress but I felt that they were not really needed to be so explicit. The relationship between Steve and Alex is not very clear to me. They dont seem very compatible. Alex is not happy but he clearly stays in it. Steven is happy with his sexual escapades, so why try to be in a relationship! Alex exerts considerable pressure on Steve which appears to be the result of his own insecurity. I was hoping that the film would be focussed more on pros and cons of raising a child as a gay couple and how parenthood affects their relationship. But it was just a hope.

The actors were good looking and acted well and the story had potential but the fact that it failed me as an audience to emotionally connect with the leads, is a problem IMO. (5/10)
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Comments

luigi43 said…
Yes , they seem incompatible ; on this matter at the very end , on the beach is it an intense gaze that can means hate?
January 10, 2019 at 2:55 PM
Golu said…
or maybe disgust! Its hard to say. The movie can use a lot of improvement
January 11, 2019 at 10:21 AM
Sailor Maan said…
Stricly average. I totally agree with you, why a baby in a couple that seems so dysfunctional, why not surrogacy (it's not like they don't have the money to do it abroad in an ethic and beautiful way...) Most of the time the reactions, lines and behaviors weren't sensible or realistic to me. And I don't understand the final gaze either... Good looking actors though ;p
December 4, 2020 at 5:26 AM
Golu said…
yes good looking actors, but just not convincing enough as a couple :)
December 5, 2020 at 11:24 AM
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