The new trailer for the upcoming thriller Mean Dreams carries the tragic burden of including one of the final roles completed by the late Bill Paxton. The actor, who recently passed away at the age of 61, is beloved by fans of blockbusters and independent film alike, having built a career that spanned four decades. He delivered memorable roles in every genre, but it seems as though this particular parting gift might well be one for the ages. Featuring a nuanced amplification of the kind of disturbing violence contained in his own directorial debut, Frailty, Bill Paxton looms over this promotional footage of Mean Dreams with a terrifying intensity.
Directed by Nathan Morlando (Gangster), and with a script that marks the feature length debut of writers Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby, Mean Dreams centres on two teenagers and their attempts to escape their abusive domestic situations while falling in love in rural America.
For more, here’s the official plot summary:
“Mean Dreams follows courageous local farm boy Jonas (Josh Wiggins) and the new girl next door, Casey (Sophie Nélisse), as they embark on a journey that will change their lives forever. As young love blossoms between the two fifteen year olds, Jonas also discovers that Casey’s abusive home life has reached a new level of danger, and Jonas takes the lead in their escape by stealing a bag full of drug money from Casey’s corrupt father – local cop Wayne Caraway (Bill Paxton).
With the stolen cash as their only means to a better life, Casey flees with Jonas and together, under relentless pursuit from her father, they learn the hard truth of what it will take in order to survive. In the end, Casey and Jonas are forced to make a life-altering choice from which there will be no turning back. A potent coming of age thriller, Mean Dreams brings together the desperation of life on the run and the beauty and wonder of first love.”
The trailer may begin as reminiscent of the early moments of the 1994 film Forrest Gump – when a young Jenny reveals the true nature of her abusive home to Forrest as they get to know one another in a haze of innocent affection – but this quickly unravels into something very dark, and very unsettling, as the two teens attempt to ditch their abusers by any means necessary. Their abusers, however, being led by Bill Paxton, are as powerful and influential as they are determined, and a claustrophobic atmosphere rapidly builds, in spite of wonderfully bleak, sweeping vistas filling the frame.
While the two teens – played by Josh Wiggins and Sophie Nelisse – certainly seem to be doing sterling work here, it is this snippet of a Bill Paxton performance that stays with us once the trailer has finished. Mean Dreams has already made waves on the festival circuit, and we can’t help but feel that when the movie finally arrives in theatres on March 17th, 2017, we’ll receive a hefty reminder of the towering talent we just lost.
