For the first half hour, \Dreamcatcher"" works. Four guys struggle with their lives and vent frustrations through cheap sex and a loaded pistol. Though stuck in the doldrums of middle age, Henry (Thomas Jane), Beaver (Jason Lee), Jonesy (Damian Lewis) and Pete (Timothy Olyphant) manage to find a bit of solace every now and then in each other's company.
The four retreat to a cabin in the wilderness of Maine, pouring alcohol over their problems and throwing in a few belches. They kick back with mutual recollections of a ""memory warehouse"" and a bit of pride for a mentally disabled kid called Duddits (Donnie Wahlberg).
In the adventerous days of childhood, the guys rescued Duddits from bullies and found he had powers bordering on supernatural. Reminiscing about their heroism provides the best moments of the film. Staying away from sentimentalism and avoiding long silences, the four guys toast to their better days. They manage to do it without cheap tears or a gaudy tribute, knowing that a raised beer and a long swig are enough.
When that long swig ends and the four men crawl to their corners, ""Dreamcatcher"" starts heading downhill. With the men left to their loneliness, the movie falters. The camaraderie is the lifeblood of the first 30 minutes and when it is broken up there's little to see.
Soon Henry and Pete take off to replenish their drained bottles while Jonesy and Beaver stay at the cabin. An accident on the return trip and a stranger lost in the woods pit the pairs against an unknown foe that provokes the little bit of horror the film can muster. Both pairs falter and fail in their dialogue and chemistry, each longing for the other two to prop up the movie.
Instead of leaving the viewer to wonder about the strange red skin affliction affecting the lost stranger, the answer is given right away. With too much stated too quickly, the pace of the movie lurches back and forth in the last 100 minutes, finally closing a little too quickly on one last event that could have been a surprise, had more dialogue been held back.
Additionally, the horror aspect of the film is blunted in exchange for a chopper attack and a too-late-to-save-it appearance by Morgan Freeman. While Freeman's presence as Col. Abraham Kurtz features the man in powerful confidence, he can't impact the film enough to save it from its own mistakes. While ""Dreamcatcher"" allows this performance to come through, it regrettably throws away the ensemble cast of Jane, Lee, Lewis and Olyphant.
Instead of taking in this product of Hollywood, it would be far better for viewers to take in something showing at the Madison Film Festival this weekend and enjoy catching a dream on film than regret trying to stomach ""Dreamcatcher.""
