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.

Joyce died in 2003 but it took three years for her decomposed and unrecognizable remains to be found in her bedsitter. It's not only the sad and tragic story of Joyce's final years, but also about alienation, family and neighbors. Sadly Joyce put her bank manager down as the next-of-kin when she was at the hospital. Also one of Joyce's final jobs was working as a cleaner, and the interviewees had difficulty imagining her doing this work. Still, cleaning is an honorable job and someone had to do it I guess.

Zawe Ashton played Joyce Vincent as an adult, and Alix Luka-Cain played Joyce Vincent as a girl.

Carol Morley, who directed this unforgettable documentary, wrote about her experiences in https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/oct/09/joyce-vincent-death- mystery-documentary

Dreams of a Life is haunting and a sharp commentary about the value of life.

One incredibly sorrowful moment was at the end when Martin, Joyce's ex-boyfriend, started crying.

The final scene was special. It featured a brief clip of Nelson Mandela tribute concert at Wembley in 1990, addressing musicians, and there was Joyce amongst the select few in the cheering crowd, watched by millions worldwide.

DREAMS OF A LIFE is a feature length 2011 docu-drama by filmmaker Carol Morley that tells the true story of Joyce Carol Vincent, a woman who died in her flat in London around 2003 and wasn't found until more than three years later. The story itself is a great one, one of the most tragic tales you could imagine and a true reflection on the careless nature of modern society, but DREAMS OF A LIFE drops the ball along the way.

Morley messes up by focusing way too much on recreating Vincent's brief life as a celebration instead of really getting to the heart of the manner of her death. After all, it's the unusual circumstances surrounding the death that makes this such a good story, but we learn next to nothing about it. Just how could somebody die in the heart of a heaving metropolis, with the TV on no less, and nobody realise for three years?

Instead, there are endless bite-sized interviews with friends who knew here, and a good half an hour of excruciating singing as Morley explores Vincent's passion for music. All of this needed to be jettisoned and replaced with an investigative journalist doing a voice-over and exploring the mysteries that remain unsolved to date.