by Christian Grullon, Contributing Writer
What makes great music? The better question is, what do artists do if nobody hears their music? Bill Pohlad’s Dreamin’ Wild is a straightforward biopic about two brothers, Donnie and Joe Emerson, who sought fame as teens with their music. In telling the Emerson brothers’ story, Pohlad touches on love, guilt, ambitions, and how our teenage hopes shape our grown selves.
Although the themes are a lot to unpack, Pohladportrays them beautifully. Casey Affleck plays Donnie, a struggling artist living in Washington with his wife and kids. He sings and plays guitar while his wife Nancy (Zooey Deschanel) is a drummer and percussionist.
Affleck’s excellent performance carries his character’s burdens beautifully without dragging the movie down. The opening scene starts with a flashback where young Don (Noah Jupe) plays a song on his guitar. He asks an unseen girl, “Did you have a good time?” As Don sings, he walks toward a door of light, which opens into an audience crowd. The crowd is in love with Don, his older brother, and bandmate Joe (Jack Dylan Grazer) performing onstage. This scene shows precisely the life that Don had dreamed of.
Pohlad dives deep into the story of the Emerson brothers, who, as kids in the 1970s, finished a record financed by their family-friendly father, Don Emerson Sr. (Beau Bridges). The investment came at a significant cost, as Don Sr.’s acreage dwindled. The record Dreamin’ Wild went nowhere and was unrecognized by audiences.
As we flash some 30 years into the film, indie record executive Matt Sullivan (Chris Messina) shows up and expresses his love for the lost record. Also, he is so impressed by the album that he wants to release it, and Joe (Walton Goggins) tells Matt the backstory behind making the record and that Don did much of the work.
The movie does a great job of touching on Don’s mindset in a scene where Max visits the family. While the family is excited about a possible opportunity, only Don refuses to believe the fantasy. The camera zooms in on Don’s facial expressions, and he barely listens to the conversations in the background.
Also, the film highlights Don’s sadness regarding the record going nowhere when he says, “We put all we had into it, and no one liked it.” Affleck masters Don’s guilt for the sacrifices that his parents made for aspirations that went nowhere.
The actors do a great job of showing what music means to their characters, which makes the story exciting and emotionally captivating. Each actor beautifully performs the feelings in the movie. Dreamin’ Wild is an emotionally moving story that touches on love, guilt, family, faith, dreams, and what music means.
Rating: High Side of Liked It
Dreamin’ Wild is currently playing in theaters
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