"What Dreams May Come" reminds me very much of a Terry Gilliam film. Unfortunately, the one that comes to mind is "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen". Full of implausibilities and hampered by sluggish, almost non-existent, direction, this new film has a visual splendor that could have benefited from a clearer vision.

The film concerns Chris (Robin Williams), a moderately successful pediatrician, who's married to Ann (Annabella Sciorra), an artist and museum curator. The couple had met in their youth and fallen madly in love. However, the death of their two children in a car accident had almost led to the dissolution of their marriage, and Ann had suffered a nervous breakdown. Now solicitous and caring, Chris agrees to run an errand for her, not knowing that he would meet his death. In the afterlife, Chris meets a celestial being (Cuba Gooding Jr) who tells him that he is the soul of Chris' ex-mentor while he was still on earth, sent to guide him through heaven. Meanwhile, Ann, devastated by her loss, commits suicide and is sent to hell. Upon realizing this, Chris, aided by an aged heavenly sage (Max Von Sydow), attempts to bridge the gap between heaven and hell in order to rescue his beloved.

On paper, this premise sounds lushly romantic and fraught with possibilities. Based on a novel by the same man who gave us "Somewhere in Time", a treacly confection about everlasting love is to be expected. Unfortunately, the usually reliable Ron Bass has produced a screenplay that is equal parts hokum and nonsense. Due to the inherent weightiness of the subject matter, and the convoluted plot, it was ill-advised for the film-makers to frame the film in episodic segments which flash back and forth between Chris' life on earth and his existence in heaven. Confusing new age ideas are meshed together conveniently to explain away plot inconsistencies, and there is an alarming lack of concern for any form of coherence. Characters turn out to be entirely different from who they are, heaven and hell are painted in broadly similar strokes (just change the color palate from technicolor to monochrome), and some attempts at humor are poorly interjected into the script at awkward moments.

The mess is not helped by director Vincent Ward, who brings to this film all the skill he showed on his last big outing, "Map of the Human Heart" - another ambitious but emotionally vacant confection. The actors often seem to be left on their own to interact among themselves, and there is a lack of tension and linear direction all around. The result is a film that moves along in fits and starts, and which grinds to a halt too many times.

The cast, all able performers, are left to do the best they can. Oscar winners Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr deliver perfunctory performances. Their efforts are apparent, but there is a failure to connect with the audience that dooms the whole project. Annabella Sciorra fares somewhat better as the grieving mother and widow, but it could be due more to the sympathetic character as written than on any outstanding ability on her part. Max Von Sydow and Rosalind Chao have what amounts to stunt casting cameos and neither add nor detract from the film in any meaningful way.

If there is any reason at all to see this film, it is the visuals created to simulate heaven and, to a much lesser extent, hell. The seamless inter-marriage of matte paintings, three dimensional animation and computer effects is stunning, and creates many beautiful tapestries onscreen. If only more effort had been put in to fashion a coherent plot and Ward had felt compelled to tell a story, "What Dreams May Come" could have been an interesting film.

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