| |
 Open
your eyes...
...and get ready to see what just may be one of the most mind-blowing
movies of the year. Although it comes from Tom Cruise and director
Cameron Crowe, the team behind 1996's Oscar-nominated Jerry Maguire,
talk about a change of pace! The dark, surreal, and almost spiritual
Vanilla Sky couldn't be any more different from the lighthearted
style of Jerry Maguire even if it tried. While that may be
a bummer for Cruise fans looking for a sappy romantic comedy to
complete them, anyone looking for a powerfully cerebral, haunting,
and provocative psychological thriller will be more than satisfied.
David Aames (Tom Cruise) is a wealthy, charismatic magazine executive
who lives the good life in New York City. His womanizing ways are
put to the test when he meets Sofia (Penelope Cruz), an aspiring
dancer who is introduced to him by his best friend (Jason Lee).
It's love at first sight, but after a night of intimate conversation,
David is confronted by Julie (Cameron Diaz), his emotionally unstable
ex-lover. In a fit of desperation, she commits suicide by driving
off the side of the road with him in the car. While David survives
the crash, his once good looks are now horribly disfigured. In order
to get his face back--and more importantly, save his soul--David
is forced to open his eyes, his mind, and his heart to the true
meaning of happiness by taking responsibility for the consequences
of his actions.
Vanilla
Sky--based on Alejandro Amenabar's 1997 Spanish thriller Obre
Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes), actually resembles a number
of different films. The themes of obsession, karma, and fate that
underscored Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut are featured
more prominently in Vanilla Sky, while guessing what's a
dream and what's reality brings to mind the surreal nature of Jacob's
Ladder and Lost Highway. Heck, there's even a sci-fi
element that's reminiscent of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Total Recall.
With that in mind, it's safe to say that the ambitious Vanilla
Sky represents a significant departure--and a major leap forward--for
Cameron Crowe as a filmmaker. The lighthearted, humorous, and personal
touches he gave to films like Say Anything and Almost
Famous are featured throughout Vanilla Sky, but the film
is actually more faithful to the dark nature of the Spanish version
that inspired it. While the setting is different, the structure,
the camera angles, and even some of the dialogue are so identical,
you'd swear at times that you were watching the same movie.
Of course, the real strength of Vanilla Sky lies with the
casting of its leads, which in this case, almost threatened to be
its undoing. Just witness last year's Proof of Life, which
was so overshadowed by the public affair between co-stars Meg Ryan
and Russell Crowe, that by the time the movie came out, people were
looking for evidence of that passion on the big screen. As it turned
out, their surprising lack of chemistry was just one of the reasons
why Proof of Life was the kiss of death at the box office.
Fortunately, that's not the case here. Despite the similar mayhem
caused by the budding romance between Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz,
the fact is the passion between them is there for all to see. Actually,
considering how much charm, charisma, and confidence the role calls
for, Cruise couldn't have been better cast as David Aames. That's
what makes his Phantom of the Opera-like transformation all
the more remarkable, and spending half the movie in such a badly
deformed state only adds to the power of his desperate, gut-wrenching
performance.
As for his co-stars, Penelope Cruz delivers what is easily her strongest,
most convincing American performance to date (though that may not
be saying much compared to Blow). Though having her play
the same role that she played in the Spanish version hardly seems
like inspired casting, it still works. Sure, she's sexy, but she's
also quite sensitive and believable as she reaches out to her shattered
love. Cameron Diaz also makes a strong impression as Cruise's sexy,
obsessed lover, while Jason Lee holds his own as Cruise's sensitive,
self-deprecating best--and only--friend.
Not that the film isn't without its shortcomings. After all, considering
that Cruise's character possesses some selfish and downright shallow
personality traits, it may be hard for some moviegoers to embrace
him as he sets off on his incredible journey. Also, as the film
progresses, it takes a number of bizarre twists and turns--as a
masked Cruise tells his story to his psychiatrist (played by Kurt
Russell) via flashbacks--before it finally reaches a far-out, overexplained
A.I.-style climax. Fortunately, just when you think the movie
has gone off the deep end, Crowe brings it back to the surface with
a brief, final image that helps it all make more sense.
The bottom line is this. Depending on what mood you're in, Vanilla
Sky is either a frustrating cinematic experience or a rewarding
one. It's a love-it-or-hate-it movie that will mean different things
to different people, and to that end, it will surely benefit from
repeated viewings. As for what it's really about...well, you're
on your own with that one my friends! All I can say is, if you really
want to figure it out, it's not that hard. All you have to do is
sit back, relax, put your mind to it, and...
...open your eyes.
|
|
