Vanilla Sky
Review by By Clint Morris
 If
you're expecting the second collaboration between Tom Cruise
and Cameron Crowe to be as equally fluffy and delectable as
their first, "Jerry Maguire", you're either going
to be sadly disappointed or pleasantly surprised.
A remake of a Spanish film "Abre Los Ojos" ("Open
Your Eyes," 1997), 'Vanilla Sky' is as different a film
as Cruise and Director Crowe have ever made - whether you
as an audience member want to take a back seat to it is debatable.
Devoid of definition, this sci-fi/drama/comedy/thriller could
either be labelled as incredibly stupid or astonishingly brilliant
- it all depends on the viewer, and whether you'll appreciate
Crowe's vision.
David Aames (Cruise) is cocky, rich and pretty much irresistible.
His life has been handed to him on a silver platter. His only
responsibility is making an appearance at the publishing empire
he owns, inherited from his late father. His fellow board
members, who he affectionately calls the Seven Dwarfs, pretty
much make up the bane of his existence.
At his 33rd birthday party, David encounters the beautiful
Sophia (Cruz), partnering his friend Shelby (Jason Lee). David
almost instantly takes a shine to her and before the night
is over he has her wrapped around his little finger. She's
everything he's always wanted, "the last guileless girl
in New York City." He takes her home to her apartment
and they talk all night, totally absorbed in each other.
When David leaves the next morning, he finds his occasional
lover, Julie (Diaz) waiting outside in her car. She convinces
him to go for a fatal ride. Once he's in the car, Julie starts
a tirade about his indifference toward her and her sudden
undying love for him. She tells him that when they made love,
his body made a promise to her, even if he didn't. On that
note of rational thought, she drives the car off a bridge,
killing herself and disfiguring David - resulting in the hideous
looking mask we see him wearing for the movie's remainder.
And this is where the psychological drama ends and the Science
Fiction like story begins. David - and the audience - start
to question where the man's dreams end and reality begins.
Was someone really killed? Is Sophia who he envisions her
to be? Is his face really disfigured under the mask?
There's no denying Cameron Crowe has talent - he's proved
that time and time again with his last few films - "Almost
Famous", "Jerry Maguire", "Singles"
and "Say Anything" - but he's out of his depth here.
To say he has been influenced by an eerie episode of The Twilight
Zone or Paul Verhoeven's "Total Recall" is undeniable
- but not for a moment does Vanilla Sky offer the freshness
of Recall. Jerking the audience from one contradiction to
the next, Crowe is aiming for an unreachable peak, and hence
the ambition sinks through as clearly as Cruise's teeth whitener.
Moving uncomfortably between genres, Vanilla Sky is a very
weird ride, one where Crowe eventually runs into a dead end.
There are a few things I did like about the movie. The cast,
naturally, are great. Cruise gives an impressive performance
as David - but unfortunately he hasn't been given the right
movie to work it. Equally impressive is Jason Lee as his endearing
best friend Shelby and Cameron Diaz suitably conniving and
moderately psychotic in the part of Julie.
On the other hand, Penelope Cruz is imagery. She's sitting
pretty and smiling away, not even considering that she's supposed
to be acting in a film. Additionally, some of the scenes in
the movie are knockout mesmerising. My favourite was the opening
scene where Cruise drives into an utterly empty Times Square
in Manhattan. This proves to be a nightmare he's experiencing.
And finally, Cameron Crowe is the master of picking music
for films. He has once again picked an awesome selection of
sounds to compensate for the madness on screen.
Cameron Crowe is hoping the audience will remember this as
a "deep" movie. But the only thing deep here is
the hole Crowe is burying himself in.
2.5 out of 5
Vanilla Sky
Rated: M15+
Australian release: From December 20th across Australia
Cast: Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Jason Lee,
Kurt Russell, Timothy Spall, Noah Taylor, Tilda Swinton.
Director: Cameron Crowe.
Website: Click
here
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