DANIEL ISN’T REAL: Third Acts Are Hard

After a traumatic experience as a child, Luke finds solace with his imaginary friend Daniel, a mischievous kid who leads Luke to act out. Scolded by his mentally ill mother, she begs him to lock Daniel away in an old dollhouse and forget he ever existed. Years later, a now college-bound Luke begins to find life harder to handle between his mother’s continuing mental breakdowns and trying to navigate adulthood on his own. While at his childhood home, Luke unlocks the dollhouse unleashing a suave older version of Daniel whose idea of fun quickly sends Luke’s world out of control.

It took a bit of pondering to unpack my feelings about Daniel Isn’t Real both in concept and completion. Writer/director Adam Egypt Mortimer swerves between real and make-believe with this imaginary friend gone awry story. But Daniel Isn’t Real is more than that, breathing new life into an old tale, even if the rules set forth by the plot don’t always suit the narrative tone or make much sense. In the end, the journey is an interesting one, but is it worth taking?

Haven’t Seen You In Years

Strong in its introduction of characters and motivations, the viewer is given enough information to grab attention and hold on for a decent. Miles Robbins as Luke plays the role with a morose charm that doesn’t get too over the top, even when called on to do so. Paired nicely with Patrick Schwarzenegger as the titular Daniel, the two work well together building an uneasy alpha/beta friendship, effectively leaving what’s happening around Luke in a constant state of questioning.

Mary Stewart Masterson is excellent as Luke’s unstable mother Claire. Her manic portrayal of a schizophrenic is smoothed out by the genuine love she exudes when calmed by her overburdened son. Living in a dilapidated Brownstone in New York, her once elegant home becomes a hoarder’s den as cluttered as her mind. Very rarely is Luke anywhere not blanketed in shadow or clutter. This detail deftly furthers the feel of chaotic existence Luke has developed over the years.

Rounding out the cast is Sasha Lane, who had a powerful debut in American Honey. She plays Cassie, a quirky painter who Luke meets with the help of his devious wingman Daniel. What starts off as an extremely offbeat pixie dream girl archetype ends up being a level headed character with a deeper sincerity than first introduced. Cassie is the catalyst for Luke to find happiness outside of his toxic relationship with Daniel, who becomes indignant once no longer needed as Luke’s Cyrano de Bergerac. This regime change throws the film into a spiral of paranoid uncertainty once Daniel decides to put an already unstable Luke through the mental ringer in a series of escalating misadventures, eventually ruining his life and relationships.

This brings us to the third act twist and – annoyed sigh –  the finale.

This Is Where We Part Ways

Let me be one-hundred percent by stating that I really enjoyed this film until the resolution. What starts as a Cronenberg style mind-bender with scenes of unnerving body horror, suddenly morphs into a laughable fairy tale nightmare sequence from an A Nightmare On Elm Street sequel. The whole mess felt out of place and what sense it did make wasn’t at all interesting compared to the rest of the narrative.

I will do my best to keep this review spoiler-free while trying to make some semblance of sense in this underwhelming conclusion.

There is a twist. It’s a very good twist and for a time I had faith in where this was going and then it all fell apart. The film is based on the book In This Way I Was Saved by Brian DeLeeuw, who is also credited with co-writing the screenplay. Having not read the book myself, I could only imagine what worked on paper might not have had the same effect on the screen. The twist goes too far into a bizarre fantasy only to change the film you are watching into something it isn’t. Playing the last few scenes back in my mind, the idea would be much more impactful in the written word. The time constraints of a film often wreak havoc on stories in need of deeper explanation. There were multiple occasions in the movie where the viewer is left to accept something without a reason for why it happened. What might go by in a few seconds of the screen time could take several pages of useful details to truly have an impact on a reader. This may very well be the case here.

Daniel Isn’t Real: Conclusion

Having perhaps been a bit harsh on Daniel Isn’t Real, I’d like to reiterate my enjoyment of the beginning and middle parts. The tone, look and disturbing special effects had me enthralled. But what starts out as Fight Club ends like a bloody version of Drop Dead Fred. That doesn’t necessarily make it bad, however. There are many fans of the book and I can only imagine they will find some enjoyment from seeing this adaptation. I would mildly recommend Daniel Isn’t Real if only to see how others might view it differently.

With so many films adapted from popular novels, what titles worked best in your opinion? Leave your recommendations in the comment section and get the conversation started.

Daniel Isn’t Real will be released in US theaters on December 6th, 2019.For all international release dates, see here.