Erotic Ballet Thriller 'Dreams' Stumbles Over Larger Ideas

Jessica Chastain and Isaac Hernández star in Michel Franco's unsettling power struggle drama.

Published on Feb. 27, 2026

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Mexican writer-director Michel Franco's 'Dreams' explores the dynamics of money, class, and the border through an intimate yet unsettling erotic drama starring Jessica Chastain as a wealthy San Francisco philanthropist and Isaac Hernández as a Mexican ballet dancer she's having a secret affair with. The film examines the push-pull of attraction and rejection on both an intimate and global scale, as the two characters experiment with wielding power against each other.

Why it matters

The film aims to tackle timely issues around immigration, class divides, and the abuse of power, but ultimately struggles to fully explore these larger themes in a meaningful way, leaving the viewer feeling unsatisfied and uneasy about the story's bleak conclusion.

The details

In the languidly paced movie, Franco presents two individuals in love (or lust?) who experiment with wielding the power at their fingertips against each other. Chastain stars as Jennifer McCarthy, a wealthy San Francisco philanthropist who runs a foundation supporting a ballet school in Mexico City. Hernández plays Fernando, a talented Mexican ballet dancer who has risked everything to be with Jennifer, his high-profile lover, even though she'd rather keep their affair under wraps. As they navigate their relationship, larger forces seem poised to shatter their connection, but the real danger ultimately lies in each other as the power dynamics between them escalate into something dark and disturbing.

  • The film is set in the present day.

The players

Jessica Chastain

An American actress who stars as Jennifer McCarthy, a wealthy San Francisco philanthropist and socialite.

Isaac Hernández

A Mexican ballet dancer and actor who plays Fernando, a talented Mexican ballet dancer having a secret affair with Jennifer.

Michel Franco

A Mexican writer and director who directed the film 'Dreams'.

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What they’re saying

“Franco loses the plot of 'Dreams' in the third act. What is a rather staid drama about the weight of social expectations on a relationship becomes a dramatically unexpected game of vengeance as Jennifer and Fernando grasp at any power they have over the other. She fetishizes him and he returns the favor, violently.”

— Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service film critic (latimes.com)

The takeaway

While 'Dreams' aims to explore timely issues around immigration, class divides, and the abuse of power, the film ultimately stumbles in its execution, leaving the viewer feeling unsatisfied and uneasy about the story's bleak conclusion rather than providing any meaningful insights.