‘DreamQuil’: Elizabeth Banks & John C. Reilly To Star In A.I. Thriller, HanWay Film Shopping It At Cannes Market

Another day, another intriguing thriller hits the Cannes market. Deadline reports that HanWay Films has a thriller about the dangers of AI on the Croisette with Elizabeth Banks and John C. Reilly in the leads. Its title? “DreamQuil,” and, no, that isn’t also the title for a new sleep medication.

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Instead, in the upcoming film, DreamQuil is a company that provides avant-garde A.I.-led mental wellness retreats. In a near-future where poor air quality keeps everyone indoors, working from home, and ever more dependent on Artificial Intelligence, Elizabeth Bank’s Carol sees her marriage with Reilly’s Gary teetering toward collapse. That prompts her to contact Dreamquil about a retreat, which prompts the company to send “Carol-Too,” an identical mechanical clone of Carol, to her house to help Gary with the kids while she’s away. It’s not like anything bad could happen in this scenario, right?

“Dreamquil” marks the feature debut of artist/filmmaker Alex Prager, who’s coming off a SXSW Grand Jury Prize win earlier this year for her short film, “Run.” Prager’s resume boasts shorts made with Cate Blanchett, Gary Oldman, Riley Keough, Brad Pitt, and Bryce Dallas Howard; not a bad list there. And as an artist, Prager has exhibited her work at MoMoa, The Smithsonian Museum, The Photographer’s Gallery London, and The Whitney Museum Of American Art, among others. Again, not a bad list at all.

For her debut, Prager will work with a few long-time collaborators. First up, there’s cinematographer Matthew Libatique, nominated for two Oscars. Recent work for Libatique includes “Don’t Worry Darling, “The Whale,” and Bradley Cooper‘s upcoming “Maestro“; he also shot Cooper’s 2018 directorial debut, “A Star Is Born.” Next in line: editor Matt Chesse, another Oscar-nominated crew member. Finally, Grammy-winning producer Nigel Godrich will compose music for “DreamQuil.” So Prager’s working with some credible professionals here for her first full-length film.

Here’s what Prager had to say about her upcoming film: “DreamQuil” is a way to bring some humanity back into a world hurling towards automation. While we can’t stop what’s coming we wanted to show one version of the nightmare play out in all its absurdity – so we can laugh a little as the horror unfolds. “DreamQuil” explores my favorite theme of identity, and I like to think of it as a love letter to Hitchcock and Tarantino set in the near-future.”  

Hmm, neither Hitchcock nor Tarantino are names that first come to mind based on this film’s synopsis, but who knows what Prager has up her sleeve. What else about “DreamQuil”? Banks leads the film’s production team with Vincent Landay, Max Handelman, and Alison Small through Brownstone Productions. And while HanWay Films shops the film around Cannes, UTA Independent Film Group and CAA Media Finance are already on board to represent the film stateside.

So does “DreamQuil” beat “Shell” as the most intriguing thriller on the Cannes market this year? Let’s wait and see what other films get shopped around the Croisette in the coming weeks before we make a call on that.