eorge Orr (Lukas Haas) is afraid to go to sleep because he believes his dreams change the world. Since he is the only one who realizes what's happening, there's no one he can turn to for help. He becomes terrified about the consequences these changes might have and nearly overdoses on the drugs he takes to avoid falling asleep.
His attorney, Heather Lelache (Bonet), helps George with the judge, but he is ordered to see a court-appointed therapist, Dr. William Haber (Caan). At first believing George is delusional, Haber determines to help George dream safely with the help of a machine called an augmentor. The augmentor allows Haber to record and store brain waves during dreams. When Haber promises George a safe dream, the exhausted young man agrees and the doctor hypnotizes him.
Haber tells George to dream of a horse running in a field. While George is dreaming, Dr. Haber and his dowdy secretary, Penny (McCarthy), begin to talk about George's problem, but Haber quickly moves the subject to one of a racy nature as he maneuvers an embarrassed Penny into talking about Lady Godiva.
When George wakes he discovers that a picture that formerly showed a mountain scene now has a picture of Lady Godiva riding on a white horse. An even bigger surprise is Penny, who has gone from being insecure and drab to being a confident, well-dressed woman.
While George returns home to talk to his friend Mannie (Strathaim), Haber begins to have his suspicions. George's brain waves are very unique. During the next session, Haber suggests to George that he should dream about his brilliant doctor having a window with a nice view. When George wakes up he's in a beautiful office that has a window with a lovely mountain view and Haber has changed into a respected, brilliant psychiatrist.
As Haber attempts to direct George's dreams, unexpected outcomes change everything as each new dream brings a shift in the world. George is able to get Lelache as his ally, but Haber has plans of his own, and they include keeping George under his thumb until the world is exactly the way he wants it.
A stylish production of a powerful story
It's certainly about time The Lathe of Heaven was brought to the screen once again, with the 1980 version a fond memory. Based on the classic novel by Le Guin, Lathe of Heaven is a stylish production that has a fine cast and an excellent script. While fans of the book will find A&E's
version of the story a bit lacking, that's only because the novel would be difficult for any two-hour movie to measure up to.
Director Philip Haas, no relation to star Lukas Haas, has brought the actors into an ever-changing canvas of music, wardrobe and sets to play out this powerful story. The production values are wonderful and each version of the world feels unique and vivid.
Lathe of Heaven isn't perfect, but its faults are minor ones. Alan Sharp's script seems to focus more on the love story than it does on Haber's quest for power. Two hours is too short to allow the story to build the way it could, and the screenplay would have benefited from some extra time. Also, while Caan is a superb actor and it's great to see him in this role, he underplays Haber a bit too much and he never really turns into the man who wants to play God. Still, none of it adds up to more than trivial complaints considering the film's other pleasures.
The rest of the cast inhabits the characters nicely, with Lukas Haas taking on the difficult role of George. However, the scene-stealers are Strathairn as Mannie and McCarthy as Penny. They both have some marvelous scenes.
