How would you have ended the film?

I think the rest of the film didn't support this ending. It was one of those 'life happens' kinda moments, that you got no inkling of throughout the film.
This ending would have been great, if the uncle played a bigger part in the film. If we could have thought of him after the tradgedy, we could have seen that someone did benefit.
Though he was discussed through most of the film, for Americans, the London accent was a bit too strong. I lived in SW London for a while, but even I couldn't follow everything. So even though he was always 'a character' in the film, he was never Godot.

I personally would have loved to see an about-face for Terry's character. He is suicidal and intent on turning himself in; Ian is moving forward, but can't bring himself to kill Terry to save himself. Terry accidentally kills Ian, but rather than take his own life, he cobbles himself back together and gets the sport shop and children with his girlfriend, etc. The irony of that would be deliciously dark, although some considerable time would have to be given to Terry's change in order to make it realistic, if it could be portrayed as a realistic change at all. Eh.

Personally I thought an appropriate ending would have been for Ian to do just what he did - smash the bottle and refuse to kill Terry. Then, as he's embracing his brother and telling him he'll stand beside him, a quick cut to the interior of the boat under a panel to see a bomb wired by the fuel tank. The boat explodes and a quick cut to shore where Uncle Howard is standing, watching the explosion on the horizon, an expression of grim contentment on his face as he says, "I told you boys: I have to survive."

Or something like that.

I think the ending in concept was fine, one brother accidentally killing the other , then taking his own life in shame. It was just poorly done. The 10 seconds epilogue from the police was dire and the zoom in/out (can't remember which) on the boat was just plain amateurish and the parallel cut to the girls shopping was really weak.

Certainly there was scope for leaving an ambiguous ending, say a shot of Terry floating face down in the river and something similar of Ian in the boat leaving us to mull over what might have happened after the beer bottle and pills scene, with maybe flashes of action to give us an inkling.

The movie premise as a whole was great, but poorly delivered. It was a mishmash of Greek Tradegy meets Chekhov meets Pinter meets Ken Loach with attempts at the kind of philosophizing that trademarks Love and Death. As much as I admire the actors the dialogue was wooden and unbelievable and yes unrehearsed.

I left wondering what might have been if it had been better produced all round.

It's a GREAT ending! It's similar to the ending of Melinda and Melinda; i.e., "Life can end, just like THAT! (Cut to black). This ending was foreshadowed by a poet's line "The only ship certain to come in has black sails"; i.e., death. "Cassandra's Dream" is a metaphor for high risk crash-and-burn behavior. As the final master shot focuses on the boat, itself, police inspectors, who can't understand the cause with absolute certainty but are witness to its effect, and are heard to say that "every day it's something else". W A is a creative film maker whose films occasionally have an experimental, groundbreaking quality. He also establishes characters with succinct exposition. This film isn't just an isolated story about specific personalities. What makes it very good if not absolutely great is the generalizations to be drawn from this instance that apply to the universe of humanity. Tragedy may follow if passion is not tempered by reason. People set traps for themselves and then fall into them. Part of the destructive impulse can be due to a codependent reaction of a younger vs. older generation. This is also escapist behavior which seeks to substitute fantasy for reality in order to break the material and spiritual bounds imposed by social class. Such risk-prone behavior is complicated and is easily and widely reproduceable.

As broader social commentary wealth, fame, and power are things that tend to corrupt. Both brothers seek wealth in order to exercise power in order to obtain sex and trophy girlfriends and thereby obtain, if not fame, then envy. The quality of their sex is "wonderfully depraved" or "innocent and also depraved". Two females, Angela the actress and an unnamed tall blonde friend of the uncle's business associate Martin, are willing to supply sexual favors in a calculated way in order to enrich their personal lifestyles and/or achieve comfort or fame. Ian humiliates his rather plainly made-up girlfriend Lucy the waitress after dumping her for more beautiful Angela the actress as he discusses his preference for the new girl in the presence of his father and the waitress. Woody's film makes a statement that this type of high-risk behavior is not the way to achieve either material success or to create abundance or happiness. In another film, mostly about fame, in which gambling and debt is also a factor, "Celebrity" begins and ends with the word "HELP!". "Cassandra's Dream" the boat itself, bookends this film, "Cassandra's Dream", which again is the metaphor for an unheeded warning and call for help that goes unrecognized until it is too late. The metaphorical ship with black sails was also used for a sequence in "Scoop". "Dream" contains a toxic mix of lust for sex, wealth, fame, and power that interferes with financial stability, piece of mind, and also true, uncorrupted love.

While the film shows what not to do, it doesn't show anything about the process by which wealth and power may be generated throughout one's working life in a manner consistent with ability to manage risk consistent with available equity. This is beyond the story's scope. The lower-class parents have been frustrated by their lack of greater success. Their lack of knowledge was a source of frustration for both brothers and the actress who have chosen to engage in high-risk behavior in rebellion to the deprivation of their respective households and manner of upbringing which has counseled against it. Kate, however, appears to be more moderate and reasonable. At least she disapproves of high-stakes gambling and expresses concern about spending. The story content involving one generation's rebellion against its lower-class parental conservatism and restraint may very well be autobiographical.

"Cassandra's Dream" is a bold, confident, simple story. Its biggest plot twist occurs when the brothers suddenly discover that their uncle is just like them. All have "crossed the line", and must confront unforeseen, unintended, tragic consequences that are to become their fate. The brothers, uncle, and his business associate pay a very high price for their life in the fast lane. Father the restaurant owner as well as the actress/model's father the driver have played safe, fearing excessive risk, while living modest lives. They are the Cassandras. Although Angela's father's character has not been developed to this extent his risk aversion and fears about his daughter's future were mentioned to Ian who ironically received this concern but said nothing. At the end the body count is three dead, one still on the loose.

As "Dream" ends we are left to consider the impact of this fallout upon surviving relatives and friends who, like the police, will ask "How could this horrible tragedy have happened?" The actual downward progression began during the boys early childhood.

in ways this movie reminded me of crimes and misdemeanors...i think i would have been a more interesting twist if colin farrel freaked out and killed ewan...then it returns him to sanity because he has just learned that his girlfriend is pregnant which is what keeps him cool because he will find out at the end of the film...which will end his attempts to contact the police.

Doncha know me Jim? I'm not Margret, I'm Edie. I didn't kill Frank DeLorca.

I'd have had them not be able to afford the boat.

THE END

Save us all having to watch two of the worst performances and accents in one of the pisspoorest movies ever made!

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