“Dreamland”

(USA)

Metacritic (6/10), Rotten Tomatoes (***)

Perhaps the worst sin a crime saga can commit is being dull, yet that’s precisely what bogs down this Depression Era tale of a fugitive on the run who’s shepherded out of harm’s way by a star-crossed, impressionable, adventure-seeking youth. (Think “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967) meets “Summer of ʼ42” (1971), and you’ve got a rough idea what this one is about.) Unfortunately, neither the crime element nor the sexual tension is ever quite what it could (or should) be, with far too much boring chatter and only paltry servings of what should have made this film engaging. To be sure, Margot Robbie’s performance as the bad girl femme fatale is a sure-fire winner, and the picture’s stunning cinematography and superb production values place viewers right in the heart of the 1930s Dust Bowl. But the dearth of elements that should have driven this offering severely undercuts the guts of the story, regrettably making it a mostly big tedious snooze.