'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enou...
'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enough to wish to continue to read my ramblings, you can find me on Dooyoo under the user name plipplop. See you around! :P
Member since:15.07.2000
Reviews:694
Members who trust:826
I am not the world’s greatest Tom Cruise fan. Of all the Hollywood Brat Pack, he always strikes me as the most unpleasant, and invariably stars in films that show Tom Cruise, as he would like the masses to see him. That aside, I’ve heard good things, and strange things about this film, and such was my curiosity that I rented a copy during its first week of release.
Vanilla Sky is the story of David Aames – a spoilt rich kid (that’s unlike you, Mr Cruise!) who wants for nothing and cares for no one. Having inherited his father’s business, he lives an opulent lifestyle in a swish city apartment, and has plenty of casual friends and lovers. His role at the helm of his father’s company meets with great disapproval from the board of directors – affectionately known as the Seven Dwarfs – but there is little that they can do, and Aames continues as he sees fit. He holds a birthday party and invites a select gathering of friends and associates – but notably not his current Shag buddy, Julie. This leads to complications when Julie arrives unannounced and takes umbrage at the attention that David lavishes upon his best friend’s girl friend.
It soon becomes apparent that David is besotted with the new girl – Sofia – and his little regard for his friend Julie. As David is leaving Sofia’s apartment one day, he discovers that Julie has been following him and against his better judgement, he agrees to go for a ride in her car. Julie gradually becomes more and more neurotic, as she reveals just how hurt
she is by David’s behaviour, and as the car spins out of control, it plunges off a bridge, onto the road below. Several weeks later, David awakens from a coma, to find Julie dead, his face horribly disfigured and an increasingly distant Sofia. Then things start to take a turn for the surreal. David finds himself in prison, accused of murder – yet he can’t remember who he is supposed to have killed. As his psychiatrist gradually unravels the layers of his mind, David starts to realise that everything is not quite what it seems to be…..
The trailers and movie posters for this movie really tell you nothing about this movie – and despite what you may think, my little introduction doesn’t really give much away either. Vanilla Sky is a decidedly strange movie – a mysterious concoction of mystery, fantasy and romance. Oh – and did I also mention that it is painfully, tirelessly dull?
There were lots of things about this movie that I didn’t like – many of which are particular to a genre, but this is one of my main criticisms of the film. I was never really sure what this film wanted to be. At times it seemed to want to be romantic and dream-like. At other times, it seemed to want to thrill and cause bewilderment. At time, it even seemed to be trying to frighten the viewer. All of these things are fine, and could probably work well in the right setting. Sadly, I found Vanilla Sky to be nothing more than an exercise in self-indulgence by the makers and by the time the two hour running time had expired, I was just about to lose the will to live.
The story twists and turns in various directions, continuously and deliberately blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. Although much of the film is shown as a standard piece of third-party storytelling, this is generally achieved by David’s flashbacks during his psychiatric consultations. This means that you have to work hard to keep up, and things have a bit of a tendency to leap around all over the place. Flashing images and brief glimpses of objects or rooms are thrown in at intervals and it’s all very confusing. This, of course, is purely intentional, but I kept getting this feeling that such moments would never be explained properly and that this film would end up like as a myriad of unexplained imagery and dialogue. Fortunately, this isn’t actually the case, but as the film twists, and then twists again – and then twists again, you do start to think that the makers were just making it up as they go along.
Tom Cruise is, of course, very “Tom Cruise”, with his flash apartment, groovy car and glorious lifestyle and I wondered what he added to the whole piece, apart from star value. I don’t think he’s particularly good in it – he seems to do nothing in movies these days apart from freak out, and as David he is as uninteresting as ever. Cruise’s insignificance pales in comparison to that of his co-star, Penelope Cruz, who stars as Sofia. Looking not unlike Animal from the Muppets, I thought that Cruz was one of the most intently irritating actresses that could possibly have been chosen and longed for her to get a good slap from the outset. I found her Hispanic drawl very distracting and I’m surprised that Tom didn’t have windscreen wipers fitted to his sunglasses, to catch the spit and phlegm ejected every time she spoke. The star of the show for me was Cameron Diaz, who seemed to revel in her new found naughtiness and clearly proved that there was more to this girl than girliness.
So what exactly is Vanilla Sky all about? That’s probably a very good question. This is one of those “Journeys of Life” movies, which tries to make us think about life and what it all means. There is a touch of the ethereal about this film – at times it hinted of The Matrix and the climax was very reminiscent of AI to me. Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is like an X File though – the bulk of the movie is about Cruise and Cruz (!) and their evolving relationship, and I think this is why I found it so dull. There is a lot of dialogue in this movie, and a lot of bonding and whilst tragedy and heartache is all very well and good, it doesn’t pay the bills – and it fails to keep me entertained. This is a film that tries to appeal to all sectors of the market – Cameron and Cruz flash a bit of flesh for the boys and Cruise pumps and humps his way throughout. It’s all rather gratuitous, and infinitely uninteresting.
The final fifteen or twenty minutes are probably the most memorable of the movie, and were sufficiently interesting enough to revive my flagging enthusiasm. There are some nice visual touches – look out for an old album cover – and some clever twists in the plot that do make the finished product a little bit more satisfying. Mention must also go to the excellent make-up used to disfigure Mr Cruise – and some very funny lines that he has in front of his medical team. (Personally, I wouldn’t have let him walk like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, but each to their own, I guess).
If you like Mr Cruise, I’m guessing that you’ll like this film – it is a bit of a showcase for our stunted little friend. If you like romantic films, this might keep you going, but otherwise, you might want to leave this alone. A film of this length needs a lot more get up and go. Vanilla Sky seemed to have got up and gone.
Not recommended
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2007 - Drama - Director: Mike Binder - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett, Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows, Donald Sutherland, Mike Binder
Production Year: 1998 - Drama - Director: Carl Franklyn, Carl Franklin - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Meryl Streep, William Hurt, Renee Zellweger, Tom Everett Scott, Nicky Katt, Lauren Graham
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
given the complexity of the movie, this is an exceptional review. the first time i saw this movie, I was frustrated that i "didn't get it". when i watched it a second time, i actually thoroughly enjoyed it, and thankfully, finished off understanding it fine. KT x
L.Yeomans 13.12.2003 19:38
I watch this. Well done you. I couldn't review it myself. Too confusing for me. I agree with you. It's a mix up of things. Just plain odd.
Lucy x
Vanilla Skyreunites director Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire) with the swoonsome Tom Cruise; ... more
adds another sexy Cruz (Penélope) and Cameron Diaz for good measure; and delivers a wildly entertaining, bizarre venture into erotic science fiction. Adapted almo...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Vanilla Skyreunites director Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire) with the swoonsome Tom Cruise; ... more
adds another sexy Cruz (Penélope) and Cameron Diaz for good measure; and delivers a wildly entertaining, bizarre venture into erotic science fiction. Adapted almo...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Young, handsome and wealthy, publishing tycoon David Aames (Cruise) can have anything his ... more
heart desires. Still, David's charmed life seems incomplete. One night, David meets the woman of his dreams (Penelope Cruz) and believes he may have found the mis...
![Vanilla Sky [DVD] [2002]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78528466.jpg "Vanilla Sky [DVD] [2002]")
Sep 14th, 2002
exceptional by (2%):
very helpful by (97%):
helpful by (1%):
