I may be imagining it, but Woody Allen seems to have taken a morbid tone with most of his movies. He seems almost obsessed with death and odd accents. Cassandra’s Dream follows in the footsteps of his last two pieces, asking questions about the moral dilemmas that each person has to face. Specifically, this film asks what you’re willing to do to achieve what you want, all against the beautiful setting of London.

The plot is different this time around though. The big difference between this one and the last few is that Allen did not give himself a role, but it is really just because he wouldn’t have fit in anywhere. This means that he’s finally a full time director whose spirit is completely behind the camera. This creates an amazing film with great drama that’s so real that it really strikes close to home.

The story revolves around Terry and Ian (Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor). They are two brothers who are completely different from each other, while still retaining a strong family connection. The movie starts with them buying their own boat, Cassandra’s Dream. Neither one of them can actually afford it, but that doesn’t matter much. This sets unseen events into motion though.

As the movies moves on, Terry and Ian both find themselves in a tough pinch. They both desperately need money. Their reasons are different but the result is the same. Not getting the money will alter their lives in ways that they don’t want to happen. Uncle Howard (Tom Wilkinson) then enters. He is a wealthy brother on the mother’s side. He is more than willing to help with their financial troubles, but he wants something in return. This demand puts the heart into Allen’s movie.

He requests that they “do away with” a certain informant. If this person makes it to the stand, it will cause him a lot of trouble. The brothers are divided on what action they should take. Terry’s gambling spirit tells him that it is time to fold and walk away with what they have, while Ian uses his strong business sense to decide that this may be their last option. This dilemma is Allen’s way of presenting both sides of the conflict, adding good contradiction and tension to the film. It turns out that the hard-drinking tough guy is the one with all the morals, while the eloquent businessman has morals that are obviously for sale. It can be said that this is Allen’s way of paying homage to Peter Barnes’ masterpiece, The Ruling Class, except with a new setting for a new age.

All of the acting is well done. Farrell manages to pull off the out of character roll of the tough brother, while McGregor pulls off the difficult role of the cold and calculating Ian. The film would have failed utterly if without these two really pulling off the basic concept. It also displays Allen’s directing talent that he chose to let the two interact naturally. They really seem like two different brothers with a personality and not just the symbol for a side of the argument.

The cinematic effects are also well done. Vilmos Zsigmond’s does a good job with the photography. Each scene is real and understated, just trying to display what is really there. Philip Glass gives the piece a great score that is one of the best in his career. The focus is obviously on Woody Allen’s work though. As a writer and director, he chose to examine the philosophies of life and death, which has been examined in his past works. Now that he is only a director, he is able to focus on the film entirely and present an honest piece that forces the viewer to examine it personally and come up with their own honest beliefs. Creating a movie like this was not easy.