We dive into the arms of Morpheus to visit the Kingdom of Dreams in The Sandman, adapted from the comics by Neil Gaiman.
What is The Sandman? Morpheus (Tom Sturridge) is an immortal and timeless creature, who rules the realm of dreams and nightmares. In 1916, he was taken prisoner by the mage Burgess (Charles Dance) and stripped of his attributes: his helmet, his sandbag and his ruby. In his absence, his realm crumbles and humanity drifts adrift, sick from uninterrupted sleep or wakefulness. A century later, Morpheus manages to escape. With the help of his faithful librarian Lucienne (Vivienne Acheampong) and his crow Matthew, he goes in search of the objects that have been stolen from him, but he must also repair the damage caused by his captivity.
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Some works are more difficult to adapt than others; The Sandman is definitely part of it. Series of comics launched by DC in the 1930s, it was taken over by Neil Gaiman from 1989 for a total of 11 volumes. Beyond the story itself, Gaiman offered a complete reinvention by blending literary (William Blake, John Milton and Dante) and pop-cultural references, Gothic aesthetics, mythological archetypes ranging from African deities to Norse gods to the Bible and major philosophical themes. As Gaiman explained, making a movie of his Sandmanit would be like “trying to put the ocean in a glass”.
After several attempts at adaptation (which Gaiman himself had opposed), it was in the form of a series that The Sandman is coming to Netflix thanks to David S. Goyer (screenwriter of Batman Begins and man of steel) and Allan Heinberg (comic creator young avengers and screenwriter of the film wonder woman), this time with the support of the author. A large part of the original material is reproduced faithfully, with however modifications which allow this “ ocean» to be contained in a « glass larger than ten episodes.
Morpheus, also known as Dream, is a being as old as time itself, a personified version of the dreams and nightmares he rules over from his realm. It is part of a family of anthropomorphic representations of the forces that govern the universe, the Eternals, among which Death, Desire or Despair. One day, in 1916, Morpheus was taken prisoner by a magician and remained captive for more than a century. When he manages to free himself, he discovers that his kingdom is falling into ruins, that many of his dreams and nightmares are gone, that all of humanity has been impacted by his absence, but also that the attributes that give him his powers (a helmet, a bag of sand and a ruby) were stolen from him. He will therefore have to remedy the situation, starting by recovering the missing objects by traveling to different dimensions and different eras. A journey during which he will notably meet the magician Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) or Lucifer (Gwendoline Christie).
The first six episodes – which resume the first volume of the saga, Nocturnal preludes – are essentially devoted to the search for the famous objects; the following four (based on The doll house) center on Rose Walker (Vanesu Samunyai), a young girl searching for her missing baby brother and who, unbeknownst to her, has the ability to “absorb” the dreams and nightmares of others, which makes it a kind of weapon of mass destruction. This is probably where the series weakens a bit: the changeover is a bit abrupt, the new narrative arc is slightly below and we also lose something of the incredible atmosphere of the first episodes.
Because what strikes from the first seconds is the aesthetics of the series with this pregnant, gothic and terrifying darkness. From the cold cellars of the domain of the mage Burgess to the dreams that punctuate the season to the forays into the realm of Morpheus, there are very few scenes that are not impressive. It’s beautiful, rich, magnificent… and certainly very expensive in terms of special effects.
Among a solid cast, some actors are doing well. We will mention Boyd Holbrook in the role of Corinthian, a nightmare escaped from the kingdom of Morpheus; Kirby Howell-Baptiste, magnificent Death or even Gwendoline Christie in Lucifer. As for Tom Sturridge, he portrays a convincing Morpheus: if he is sometimes more apathetic than laconic, his character remains fascinating with his mysterious personality, his arrogance, his deep voice and his gothic look, the actor also managing to show his subtle evolution over the episodes.
The Sandman is also magnificent in the way it takes up the great themes of the comics. A large part of the story concerns the hero’s relationship with humanity, the link between the human and the spiritual: Morpheus’ vision is that of a higher, almost divine entity, and he wonders about the human being and its peculiarities. Why are we afraid of death? (sublime sixth episode) What relationship do we have with the inevitability of passing time? What are dreams for? Can they have an impact on reality? They are individual stories that speak of life, death and all the beliefs that we create in between. Sad, melancholy or horror stories but always shot through with hope and love – these forces that go beyond us and allow us to get up again after disillusion, failure or bereavement.
Based on an abundant work whose adaptation is a challenge, The Sandman manages the feat of offering us a version not only faithful to the original material but also to its spirit. Intelligent, gripping and stimulating, the series particularly enjoys deliciously disturbing atmospheres, a spectacular implementation and a rich subtext. Despite some slight flaws, The Sandman is an adaptation that fans of Neil Gaiman… wouldn’t have dared to dream of.
The Sandman.
10 episodes of around 50′.
Available on Netflix.