DREAMS OF A LIFE is a feature length 2011 docu-drama by filmmaker Carol Morley that tells the true story of Joyce Carol Vincent, a woman who died in her flat in London around 2003 and wasn't found until more than three years later. The story itself is a great one, one of the most tragic tales you could imagine and a true reflection on the careless nature of modern society, but DREAMS OF A LIFE drops the ball along the way.
Morley messes up by focusing way too much on recreating Vincent's brief life as a celebration instead of really getting to the heart of the manner of her death. After all, it's the unusual circumstances surrounding the death that makes this such a good story, but we learn next to nothing about it. Just how could somebody die in the heart of a heaving metropolis, with the TV on no less, and nobody realise for three years?
Instead, there are endless bite-sized interviews with friends who knew here, and a good half an hour of excruciating singing as Morley explores Vincent's passion for music. All of this needed to be jettisoned and replaced with an investigative journalist doing a voice-over and exploring the mysteries that remain unsolved to date.
Morley messes up by focusing way too much on recreating Vincent's brief life as a celebration instead of really getting to the heart of the manner of her death. After all, it's the unusual circumstances surrounding the death that makes this such a good story, but we learn next to nothing about it. Just how could somebody die in the heart of a heaving metropolis, with the TV on no less, and nobody realise for three years?
Instead, there are endless bite-sized interviews with friends who knew here, and a good half an hour of excruciating singing as Morley explores Vincent's passion for music. All of this needed to be jettisoned and replaced with an investigative journalist doing a voice-over and exploring the mysteries that remain unsolved to date.