Tribeca Review: Robert Schwartzman's 'Dreamland' Starring Johnny Simmons, Amy Landecker, Jason Schwartzman, And More

It seems almost inevitable that Rooney frontman, Coppola scion, and Jason Schwartzman brother Robert Schwartzman would eventually make a movie, and he makes his directorial debut with an earnest, musically themed take on the Mrs. Robinson myth with “Dreamland." Co-written with Benjamin Font, the film stars the endearing, almost cherubic Johnny Simmons as Monty Fagan, a struggling piano player who becomes entangled with an older lover/benefactress, Olivia (Amy Landecker), while trying to sort out his life. 

Monty, peddling piano lessons for $25 bucks a pop, dreams of opening his own piano bar, but he settles for a replacement gig filling in at the swanky La Petit Bel Ami hotel. It’s where he meets Olivia, an older woman who actually wants to have sex with him, unlike his longtime girlfriend Lizzie (Frankie Shaw). Their mojo has fizzled, partially thanks to her mom (Beverly D’Angelo), whom they live with. So when Olivia turns up, worshipful and libidinous and with...