DREAMLAND

A young actress is thrust by ambition into the orbit of old money Hollywood and discovers, unsurprisingly, the dark side to fame and fortune.

“In retrospect, if a man says run, you should listen. I didn’t, of course.” And so the ominous tone of this modern gothic is set from the start, as Blake’s heroine, struggling actress Anya Morris, puts her wheels in motion toward a predetermined demise. Surrounded by the billowing heat and existential threat of the Santa Ana winds, Anya is itching to land a part, any part, that will move her out of the apartment complex owned by her Filipino mother, away from disapproving eyes and the guilt of wanting more than to work at the family store. Fate comes swirling through the door in the form of Teddy Finch, a high school acquaintance and Hollywood nepo baby who harbors a social media obsession with Anya. She’s quick to fit into whatever role necessary to get what she needs from him—“A prayer: If this dream goes unrealized, it won’t be because of anything I didn’t do”—and soon finds herself on his arm at a charity gala. There she meets the charmingly cynical Emmanuelle de Witt, who offers what Anya’s always dreamed of, namely access and opportunity. Anya visits the de Witt mansion and finds herself thrown into a scene of debauchery and opulence, with Emmanuelle whispering promises in her ear, as long as she does “[her] job,” one yet to be defined, but which now holds the key to her future. She must watch someone named Julian and make sure he’s never out of sight. “Severe epilepsy,” according to whispers, but the truth is much darker. Blake is fantastic at creating a foreboding atmosphere à la Megan Abbott, using the California weather, the constant hum of traffic, and the toxicity of ambition to produce a cloying, suffocating environment that matches the sickness consuming everyone in the de Witt mansion. While the gothic undertones are a fun nod to the likes of Jane Eyre, the grotesque secrets of Hollywood’s finest are neither very original nor surprising, as we’re set up to expect the worst from Page 1.

Dripping in satire and all-consuming desire, this is more about the atmosphere and less about the drama that unfolds.