I Dreamed of Africa (2000): Dir: Hugh Hudson / Cast: Kim Basinger, Vincent Perez, Eva Marie Saint, Daniel Craig, Lance Reddick: Watching the neighbours mow their lawns is more exciting than this film. Title indicates prosperity and stars Kim Basinger as a single mother involved in a pointless fifteen minute sequence regarding a car accident and leg operation. Her mother protests as she takes her son and travels to Africa with her fiancé. She attempts to build a ranch but becomes discouraged when her fiancé prefers safari hunting with the boys. Then we are given useless subplots involving poachers, water problems, storms, a death, a walk home in the dark when the jeep gets stuck in the mud, an animal attack, a newborn baby, etc, etc. If we wait long enough we might see the kitchen sink thrown in too. Director Hugh Hudson previously made Chariots of Fire but he displays little of that talent here. Horrible acting from Basinger who is stretched in several different directions at once but never arriving to the ending soon enough. Fiancé Vincent Perez might as well have been replaced by a store window dummy for all the humanity he brings out. Seeing Eva Marie Saint in this after a rewarding career is an unfortunate waste. Also wasted appearance by Lance Reddick and Daniel Craig among others. Great shots of Africa within a film that should be fed to crocodiles. Score: 2 / 10
Review of I Dreamed of Africa
