doesn't live up to expectations

Rating: Null/10 (22 January 2002)

`Forget everything you know about LoveHateDreamsLifeWorkPlayFriendshipSex' An ambitious tagline for any film coming out of Hollywood, even if it is from the much-touted writer-director Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous). Vanilla Sky is no ordinary mainstream film, it attempts to present the audience with the age-old philosophical question: what is reality? Don't be put by such profound inquiries; the film does not really go very far in answering it. The best bits are in fact the electric chemistry between Cruise and Cruz (both of who succeed in looking fantastic).

The essential plot - without ruining the film for you - is about a spoilt, rich, young millionaire, David Aames (Cruise), who is happily sleeping his way through all the young, beautiful starlets of New York including the slightly psychotic Julie Goanna (Diaz). Aames is a man who has and can get everything, including his best friend's potential girlfriend, the mystical but captivating, Sofia, (Cruz). Unfortunately, this doesn't go to plan and Julie's psychotic tendencies get the better of her. She decides to drive off a bridge with Aames, an unwilling passenger in the car. From then on Aames' life spirals off into a confusing and at time mildly diverting exploration of life, love and reality.
This is an entirely watchable and enjoyable film but it certainly does not live up to its tagline. All the answers to the questions are offered to the audience on a plate at the end of the film unlike the original 1997 Spanish film, Abre los Ojos, by Alejandro Amenabar. Some of the acting is a touch deliberate at the start and Crowe has a tendency to labour his points to the extreme. Add to this a script that churns out platitudes and cheesy profundities in an effort to be charmingly mystical or surreal. Vanilla Sky has neither the style nor the ingenuity of Fincher's Fight Club (a film Vanilla Sky has be compared with). Nevertheless, I cannot be so harsh about a film that is fundamentally inoffensive. The acting from the four leads is impressive.The central love triangle is convincing and comforting, which is great for gossip-lovers only watching to see the Cruise/Cruz action. Diaz, who has been neglected in terms of column inches by these recent events, it exceptionally good as the fatally insane actress; like Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lamb, her eyes are terrifyingly penetrating and her smile dangerously seductive. Cameron Crowe's direction is diverting but never insightful and moments that ought to be filled with pure, unadulterated terror (such as the car crash and certain `mirror' shocks) are actually more annoying than frightening. In fact, Aames' conspiracy theory is more terrifying and interesting than the mediocre sci-fi conclusion Crowe offers us.
Perhaps, this is a problem with expectations or a problem with the way it was marketed. Whatever the answer, unfortunately most people will hate it: finding it dull, uninspiring and only mildly thrilling. However, there will be a sizeable number of people who might enjoy the unconventional aspects of the film. Personally, I didn't find the intellectual elements especially intellectual, which is a shame; but it doesn't make Vanilla Sky, a boring film to avoid as there are some redeeming factors. Don't go if you are looking life-changing insights, but do go if you want to see `mortality as home entertainment'.
three stars out of five