Sweet Dreams

Sweet Dreams is a biographical drama about the country singer Patsy Cline. Set largely in Virginia in the 1950s, it follows her from her first marriage to the steady, unexciting Gerald into the arms of Charlie Dick, a restless charmer she meets in 1956. Her recordings begin to find an audience, but Charlie's drinking, his womanizing and his army service put pressure on the marriage, leaving Patsy to weigh her feelings for him against the demands of a career that is finally taking off.

Karel Reisz directed the film, the sixth in the chronological list of his features, following The French Lieutenant's Woman. Robert Getchell wrote the screenplay, Bernard Schwartz produced, and Jessica Lange plays Patsy opposite Ed Harris as Charlie, with Ann Wedgeworth as Hilda Hensley, David Clennon as Randy Hughes, James Staley as Gerald Cline and Gary Basaraba as Woodhouse. Thirty-two cast members and forty-eight crew are credited.

Released in October 1985 and running 115 minutes, the film is a co-production between HBO, HBO Films and Silver Screen Partners, and it took about 9 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7 out of 10 from roughly 5,800 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.4 from around 64 votes, a much smaller sample. A critics' score of 6.5 from 21 reviews is closely in line with the audience figure on IMDb.