Beautiful Dreamer

Set during the Second World War, Beautiful Dreamer stars Brooke Langton as Claire – an affable young woman whose childhood friendship with Joe (Colin Egglesfield) has blossomed into love and marriage. Trouble ensues as Joe goes off to fight and is subsequently feared dead after his plane is shot down, although, months later, the man surfaces a few towns over working as a mechanic under an entirely different name. It becomes clear that Joe is suffering from a type of amnesia brought on by a blow to the head, and, on the advice of her doctor (James Denton’s Dr. Kessler), Claire attempts to get close to Joe without letting on that she’s actually his wife. It’s an unabashedly sentimental premise that’s generally employed to positive effect by director Terri Farley-Teruel, as the filmmaker does a nice job of initially drawing the viewer into the deliberately-paced narrative by emphasizing the admittedly idealized relationship between Claire and Joe. The movie’s obvious lack of budget is, as a result, never quite as problematic as one might’ve feared, with Langton’s charismatic, thoroughly compelling performance elevating the proceedings on an impressively frequent basis. And although scripter Terry Chase Chenowith has peppered the film with a few decidedly questionable elements (eg what’s with the weird subplot involving a waitress whose husband died in the war?), Beautiful Dreamer, anchored by an undercurrent of palpable romance, establishes itself as an old-fashioned melodrama that’s ultimately impossible to resist.

**1/2 out of ****