CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Sadia Afrin Joyce Carol Vincent's life story is saddening, and intriguing. I applaud the director for bringing her story into everyone's attention and trying to string together her life and ambitions. But I felt the documentary was not very well made. Zawe Ashton as Joyce was spectacular and her acting was mesmerizing. That being said, the documentary needed to subtitle the names of the people who appeared and talked about Joyce. It was very annoying to figure out who was whom and how they knew Joyce. The most irritating thing was the board with horrible, almost unintelligible handwriting. The family declined to appear on the docu which was a big disappointment. All in all, I feel Carol tried her best but I felt more effort was needed.

Jackson Booth-Millard I found this half docudrama film listed in the Radio Times, being broadcast on television, it sounded like an unbelievable real life story, and with it having good reviews from critics I was definitely up for it. Basically the film tells the story of British 38-year-old Joyce Vincent (played by Fresh Meat's Zawe Ashton in imagined reconstructions), a beautiful, popular woman who was nonetheless disconnected and lonely. Joyce died in her bedsit, in Wood Green, North London, in December 2003, her death went unnoticed, neither her family, friends or work colleagues were aware, her body was not discovered for three years, on January 25th 2006, surrounded by wrapped but undelivered Christmas presents. The neighbours assumed that the flat was unoccupied, the odour of decomposing body tissue was attributed to nearby waste bins, the flat's windows did not allow direct sight into the accommodation, and drug addicts frequented the area, this may explain why no one questioned the constant noise from the television, it was bailiffs that broke in to Joyce's flat and found her dead. Joyce's body was badly decomposed to conduct a full post-mortem, she was identified from dental records, the cause of death was believed to be caused by either an asthma attack or complications from a recent peptic ulcer. This film switches between constructed scenes of the last days and life of Joyce, and interviews of those who knew her, tracked down by investigating director Carol Morley, they describe her as beautiful, intelligent and socially active. During her life Joyce met figures such as Betty Wright, Gil Scott-Heron, Ben E. King and Nelson Mandela, she went to dinner with Stevie Wonder, and she was beginning a possible singing career, her song "Tell Me" is played in the end credits. Also starring Alix Luka-Cain as Young Joyce, Cornell John as Father and Neelam Bakshi as Mother. Ashton gives a believably subtle performance as the woman who many people who liked her but was nonetheless lonesome, the highlights are the imagined sequence of Joyce singing along to "My Smile is Just a Frown (Turned Upside Down)" by Carolyn Crawford, and the real Vincent's voice in the moving song at the end, we will never know what happened to Joyce Vincent and how she went undiscovered for so long, but this film is a haunting and sad but ultimately interesting drama- documentary. Good!

billcr12 Newspaper headlines are flashed on screen detailing the strange case of a 38 year old woman found dead in her apartment after three years. Joyce Carol Vincent died a lonesome death, without drawing notice. A pathologist could not determine the cause of death due to its decomposition. Dental records were used for identification. The people who discovered her said that the television was on and Christmas presents were partially wrapped. A reenactment shows a team in hazmat suits decontaminating the flat. A picture of a pretty black woman is shown while interviews with friends and co-workers begin.She is described as well spoken and easy going. Her mother wast Indian and father a black Grenadian carpenter and womanizer. Her mother died when she was eleven and she told those around her that her father had also passed away. Later on it is discovered that he passed away a year after her.Recordings are played from a studio session when Joyce was aspiring to be a professional singer. A boyfriend, Martin, speaks well of her with fond memories. He is white and overweight and was shocked that such a good looking woman would date him. Another boyfriend remembers living with her and the night she tells him how she met Nelson Mandela. They eventually drift apart and she lives a nomadic lifestyle, rooming with different men and possibly being physically abused by one. A beautiful actress(Zawe Ashton) portrays Joyce in the film and she is very good.Ironically, the most compelling figure of the story turns out to be Martin, who with introspection, regrets the choices he made because he never stops thinking about Joyce, who he loved very much.Dreams of A Life is a powerful and moving statement on how little we really know about each other and the inner demons within all of us.

markgorman Carol Morley has come up with a really interesting idea.She's written and directed a documentary about the mysterious death of a beautiful West Indian 39 year old girl (Joyce Vincent) who was a major hit with the lads "People said she was as good looking as Whitney Houston; I thought she was more attractive than that." and had hundreds of friends and admirers and a huge family to boot; four sisters.The film is not so much about how she died but the fact that it took three years for her body to be discovered. In her flat. Watching her TV which was still on.No Electricity company shut her utilities off; the council never chased the rent; no one complained about the smell; none of her friends visited; none of doting ex's; none of her family. Nobody.Carol Morley builds a documentary mixing dramatised re-enactments of her life and "Touching the Void" type real life storytelling to get closer to the truth than the police ever did.It's a fascinating idea and in places nicely shot with some interesting music (although hardly a career high for ex-Magazine bassist Barry Adamson).Why then is it so unengaging emotionally? Why do we not really care about poor Joyce Vincent? I think because the story is dragged 30 – 40 minutes past is tell by date. It's just far too long.It's a shame because I really wanted to like it and applaud almost everything about it; including the fact that it was funded (in part by the Irish Film Board!?) and the incredible detective work that Carol Morley did to unearth so many of the people in Joyce Vincent's life when the police found not one of them.In the end, it just makes the police look ridiculous.And poor old Martin, the bachelor who lost the love of his life.Bless him.