In Dreams
The housewife Claire Cooper is married to the pilot Paul Cooper and their little daughter Rebecca is their pride and joy. When a stranger kidnaps a girl, Claire dreams about the man but Detective Jack Kay ignores her concerns. But when Rebecca disappears during a school play, Claire learns that her visions were actually premonitions and she is connected to the killer through her dreams. She has a nervous breakdown and tries to commit suicide. Her psychologist Dr. Silverman sends her to a mental institution and soon she finds that her husband will be the next victim of the serial-killer. Further, the serial-killer was interned in the same cell in the hospital where she is. Will Claire be able to save Paul?
The film commercial failure against its respectable budget of $30.0M, earning $12.0M globally (-60% loss). While initial box office returns were modest, the film has gained appreciation for its unconventional structure within the drama genre.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
In Dreams (1999) showcases deliberately positioned narrative architecture, characteristic of Neil Jordan's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 40 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.6, the film showcases strong structural fundamentals.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Claire Cooper lives an idyllic life in New England with her husband Paul and daughter Rebecca. She works as a children's book illustrator, painting scenes from fairy tales. Her ordinary world is peaceful and creative.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 10 minutes when Claire has a terrifying vision of a young girl being drowned in water. The next day, news breaks that a child has been found murdered in exactly the way Claire dreamed. She realizes her nightmares are real premonitions.. At 10% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 22 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 22% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to Claire goes to the police despite her husband's objections. She commits to using her visions to help catch the killer, crossing into a dangerous new world where she is psychically connected to a murderer., moving from reaction to action.
At 48 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 48% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. The analysis reveals that this crucial beat Claire has a vision that her own daughter Rebecca is the killer's next target. The stakes become horrifyingly personal. She races to save her daughter but arrives too late - Rebecca is kidnapped and murdered. False defeat: Claire failed to use her gift to save the person she loves most., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 72 minutes (72% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Claire attempts suicide in the psychiatric hospital, unable to bear the grief and the relentless visions. This is her darkest moment - she has lost her daughter, her sanity, her marriage, and now wants to lose her life. The whiff of death is literal., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 78 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 78% of the runtime. Claire discovers the location of Vivian's lair through her visions - a flooded town submerged underwater where he was traumatized as a child. She escapes the hospital and chooses to confront him directly, using their psychic bond as a weapon rather than accepting victimhood., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
In Dreams's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping In Dreams against these established plot points, we can identify how Neil Jordan utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish In Dreams within the drama genre.
Neil Jordan's Structural Approach
Among the 10 Neil Jordan films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. In Dreams represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Neil Jordan filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman. For more Neil Jordan analyses, see The End of the Affair, The Brave One and The Crying Game.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Claire Cooper lives an idyllic life in New England with her husband Paul and daughter Rebecca. She works as a children's book illustrator, painting scenes from fairy tales. Her ordinary world is peaceful and creative.
Theme
A character mentions "sometimes the things we can't see are the most dangerous" - foreshadowing Claire's psychic gift and the hidden danger of the killer she can sense but cannot locate.
Worldbuilding
Establishes Claire's family dynamic, her artistic work, her daughter's routines, and the picturesque New England setting. Claire begins experiencing strange, vivid dreams that feel like more than normal nightmares.
Disruption
Claire has a terrifying vision of a young girl being drowned in water. The next day, news breaks that a child has been found murdered in exactly the way Claire dreamed. She realizes her nightmares are real premonitions.
Resistance
Claire struggles with whether to report her visions to police. Paul is skeptical and worried about her mental health. Claire debates acting on her gift while experiencing more disturbing dreams of the killer's perspective.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Claire goes to the police despite her husband's objections. She commits to using her visions to help catch the killer, crossing into a dangerous new world where she is psychically connected to a murderer.
Mirror World
Claire's connection to the killer deepens. She begins to understand that Vivian Thompson, the serial killer, was himself traumatized as a child. This dark mirror relationship will force Claire to confront her own psyche and maternal instincts.
Premise
Claire works with authorities while experiencing increasingly invasive visions. Her mental state deteriorates as the line between her mind and the killer's blurs. She tries to use the dreams to identify locations and save potential victims.
Midpoint
Claire has a vision that her own daughter Rebecca is the killer's next target. The stakes become horrifyingly personal. She races to save her daughter but arrives too late - Rebecca is kidnapped and murdered. False defeat: Claire failed to use her gift to save the person she loves most.
Opposition
Claire suffers a complete breakdown after Rebecca's death. She is institutionalized. The killer, Vivian, intensifies his psychic attacks on Claire. Her marriage to Paul disintegrates. The visions become more violent and controlling.
Collapse
Claire attempts suicide in the psychiatric hospital, unable to bear the grief and the relentless visions. This is her darkest moment - she has lost her daughter, her sanity, her marriage, and now wants to lose her life. The whiff of death is literal.
Crisis
In the aftermath of her suicide attempt, Claire processes her trauma. She realizes Vivian wants her specifically - the psychic connection goes both ways. She begins to understand the killer's childhood trauma and his obsession with her.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Claire discovers the location of Vivian's lair through her visions - a flooded town submerged underwater where he was traumatized as a child. She escapes the hospital and chooses to confront him directly, using their psychic bond as a weapon rather than accepting victimhood.
Synthesis
Claire travels to the underwater town and confronts Vivian. A psychological and physical battle ensues where Claire must use her understanding of his trauma and her own grief as mothers/children. She fights him in the flooded ruins of his childhood home.
Transformation
Claire kills Vivian but emerges fundamentally transformed by trauma. Unlike the opening image of idyllic domesticity, she is now alone, damaged, but freed from the psychic connection. The final image suggests she has survived but will never return to innocence. A dark, ambiguous ending.