Orpheus and "What Dreams May Come"

In 1998 What Dreams May Come was a much-hyped flop. I didn't think much of it either, but now I think differently. It is not for everyone's taste. Not many Americans will pay to see a movie that includes tragic deaths, grief, lots of psychology, and that take places for half its length in the Underworld.

Without spoiling too much-- because you should see it if you haven't-- Robin Williams plays Dr. Chris Nielson, "the man who wouldn't give up," attempting to rescue his wife Annie (Annabella Sciorra) from Hell.

If this sounds absurd, that's because it is. What Dreams is a conscious retelling of the Orpheus myth, in which the famous musician goes down into the Underworld to bring back his wife Eurydice (by the way, pronounced You-RID-ih-see).

Orpheus loved Eurydice, who died from a snake bite. He knew that ordinary mortals do not get to go down into the Underworld, and he knew furthermore that once a soul is dead, it is dead forever.

This is pre-resurrection Europe, after all.

But through the power of his world-famous music, he is able to charm Cerberus, the three-headed dog and guard of the gate to the Underworld (think Fluffy in Harry Potter). In What Dreams, Cerberus is a huge gutted and beached wreck of an oil tanker, inhabited by spear-wielding barbarians. (!)

Orpheus then entertains the queen of the Underworld, Persephone, who herself does not spend all her time below. She allows Eurydice to follow him back up to the light, but he must not look back at her. If he does, then she must go back down again forever.

It is inevitable, of course, that Orpheus will look back, which sends him over the deep end, and his career as a successful performer ends by his being torn limb from limb by his fans.

(*Note that this version of the myth is best known in Ovid's Metamorphoses, a work written in Latin in the 1st century AD. We do not know that the ancient Greeks told the story in this way at all.)

Chris Nielson's task is more psychologically complex, for Annie's desire to come back from Hell is never assured, and Chris must face the danger when he goes to Hell of losing his mind and not getting out either.

Watch the movie and see how it comes out.

Last time I saw this, I was wedded to the idea of rescue. I was an Orpheus-- and as it turns out, more like Orpheus than I wanted to be. This story was too emotionally close to me for me to be able to appreciate it. I thought it was naive and New Agey, and I didn't believe in the reality of the characters.

But the second time I understood what a challenge it is for a spouse to rescue a spouse, and how no one can be rescued without his or her consent. In fact, rescue-- the psychological kind-- can only be effected by the person who is in need. People-- spouses, therapists, friends, family-- can support, but only those who want to, and will fight for it, can bring about a rescue, of themselves.

I think this movie is deceptively perceptive. It was marketed on the visuals-- Photoshop 5.0 never looked better in the Infant Internet days-- and on Robin Williams' star power. But the screenplay resonates with wisdom from someone who has seen many ups and downs.

What Dreams May Come is not the Orpheus story incarnate, and it is not exactly Greek. But in its insistence that life is difficult, it is more Greek than about ninety-nine percent of other American stories.

Photo came from here.

Comments

[Lee]

I saw this one a while back and remember disliking it, but now you've given me some things to think about. I've always assumed the Orpheus-Eurydice myth was less about rescue than about the nature of art.

[DF]

Great to hear from you again, Lee.

As to the meaning of Orpheus and Eurydice, depends on who's telling and hearing the myth. Since Ovid-- a very self-conscious member of the creative class-- gives us our best-known version of this myth, I would guess that the nature of art could well figure in to his vision. But if the story of the failed rescue is ancient and popular, then we need to look at meanings that a lot of people could identify with. We don't have enough evidence to decide whether Ovid was mostly copying or making up his version wholesale.