In a world built on dreams, he saw the nightmare lurking beneath.
Set in the bleak landscape of 1930s America, Fallen Dreamer follows Nathanael West as he drifts from one soul-crushing job to another, desperately trying to sustain himself while writing novels that no one seems to want. The film opens with West arriving in Hollywood, where he takes a job as a scriptwriter for B-movies — his ticket to survival but also a source of constant compromise. West quickly sees through the glamour of the industry, sensing the despair and delusion that lurk beneath the bright lights and sweeping backlots. Intercutting between the gritty streets of Los Angeles and West’s feverish imagination, we watch him begin to pen his masterpiece, The Day of the Locust. Inspired by his encounters with outcast actors, broken dreamers, and Hollywood’s underbelly, West captures the fragmented psyche of a country clinging to illusions. But as his literary vision comes to life, his personal life unravels. In the company of kindred spirit and fellow writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, he experiences both moments of wild inspiration and deep despair, struggling with relationships and finding himself increasingly isolated by his insights into the human condition.
Story added by kamsismith on November 5, 2024
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