Dreamin' Wild

2022

Action / Biography / Drama / Music

6
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 65% · 62 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 65%
IMDb Rating 6.4/10 10 1648 1.6K

Plot summary

The true story of the Emerson family and the tumult that followed the success of their self-recorded pop-funk album of the same name, which went largely unnoticed until critics rediscovered and reappraised it decades later. Now, as an adult, Donnie is forced to confront the ghosts from the past and grapple with the emotional toll his dreams have taken on the family who supported him.

Director

Bill Pohlad Photo
Bill Pohlad

Top cast

Walton Goggins Photo
Walton Goggins as Joe
Zooey Deschanel Photo
Zooey Deschanel as Nancy
Casey Affleck Photo
Casey Affleck as Donnie
Noah Jupe Photo
Noah Jupe as Teenage Donnie
720p.BluRay 720p.WEB 1080p.BluRay 1080p.WEB
1017.22 MB
1280*536
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 50 min
Seeds 3
1017.51 MB
1280*534
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 50 min
Seeds 4
2.04 GB
1920*804
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 50 min
Seeds 4
2.04 GB
1920*800
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 50 min
Seeds 2

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ferguson-6 7 / 10

one more time, baby

Greetings again from the darkness. Very few actors are more proficient than Oscar winner Casy Affleck at taking on the role of a tortured soul and making us care. If you are one (like me) who wiled away many hours scouring LP bins at music stores, then you likely recall the "Dreamin' Wild" album from Donnie and Joe Emerson. It was a horrible album cover featuring the two young brothers in white jumpsuits. The self-produced album flopped, and writer-director Bill Pohlad has adapted the in-depth article penned by Steven Kurutz to dramatize the backstory, while filling in the real-life effects.A vivid dream of success at an early age startles an older Donnie Emerson (Casey Affleck) awake. This is how Pohlad opens the film. Reality strikes as he once again realizes that recurring dream never came true, and now he runs a foundering recording studio and plays wedding gigs with his wife Nancy (Zooey Deschanel). Director Pohlad plays with timelines in an unconventional manner much as he did in his excellent Brian Wilson biopic LOVE & MERCY (2014). Noah Jupe and Jack Dylan Grazer play the young Donnie and Joe, respectively, while Walton Goggins plays grownup Joe, the less talented, though quite eager drumming brother.This is a beautifully crafted film, though a bit unusual for a musician biopic. It's not so much a story of music as it is a glimpse at the psychology of a musician. On the family farm in rural Fruitvale, Washington, teenage Donnie writes and performs songs. His ever-optimistic and always supportive father (a terrific Beau Bridges) mortgages the farm to build the boys an onsite recording studio so that they can pursue music, while keeping up with farming chores. When nothing happens with the album, dad loses a big chunk of the farm, and everyone just moves on with life. Well, Donnie doesn't so much move on as brood about a shattered dream. Thirty plus years later, an independent record producer (Chris Messina) shows up and informs the brothers that their album has found a second life online and there is interest in a new pressing, as well as a special concert and even a tour.It's at this point where we see just how deep the waters run for Donnie. He is reticent to allow himself to dream again ... despite encouraging his own kids to do so. He's a pensive man carrying the burden of guilt and shame as a son and failed artist. It takes courage to try again, although a tortured artist remains tortured regardless of any level of success. The second shot finds the dreamlike hit "Baby" front and center. It's an ethereal song perfectly suited to Donnie's temperament and a testament to his talent.Director Pohlad brilliantly utilizes flashbacks throughout so that we understand what these folks have endured, and how differently they each react to the second shot at fame and respect. Often it takes a jolt in the present to permit us to come to terms with the unresolved feelings of the past, and we not only get to see Donnie make peace with his brother and father, but in a brilliant cinematic sequence, also with his younger self. Pohlad's film plays as a fitting tribute to Donnie Emerson, but also as inspiration to all the dreamers.Releasing digital and On Demand beginning September 26, 2023.
Reviewed by loganhawaiian 10 / 10

Absolutely Stunning.

Saw this movie at the premiere in Spokane. The way the director tells the story is absolutely unique. Just like with Love and Mercy, he creates a biopic that keeps you absolutely hooked the entire time. Casey was an absolutely perfect role and so was every other actor in the film. When Donnie lashed out on Joe after the show, it felt like you were actually there. Again, Casey's acting is completely captivating. The ending of the film, with Donnie, Joe, and Nancy was a perfect close to the film. Everybody was cheering throughout the duration of the film and the jokes are absolutely solid and land perfectly. Overall, this movie was perfect. The entire cast and crew made this story more captivating than I could have ever guessed.
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