A film you hate to love

Rating: Null/10 (12 January 2002)

I want to state clearly first of all that I am a fan of the darker side of film. Give me Se7en, Fight Club, A Clockwork Orange, Memento, and Vanilla Sky and I'll be happy forever.
With that said Vanilla Sky is the lightest movie I've ever seen.

Stay with me, it'll make sense in the end.
Tom Cruise has been fleshing out lately to test the waters of what he can achieve. Some are very good, such as Jerry Maguire, some are very bad, such as Eyes Wide Shut. Vanilla Sky breaks the mold as he steps far far away from anything he's ever done before. Throughout the movie his character, David Aames, feels differently about HIMSELF (a big change for male characters in movies). He goes from feeling his life is great, to how his life is worthless, to being a nutcase, to being a fake since he was born. The way Crowe directs leads all of these together in a confusing mass, but in a good way. The film is supposed to toss your brain around as much as David's.

I won't go into the story plot, too many people do that. What makes this a film you would hate to love is that it's getting such horrible reviews. It makes you almost ashamed to admit you even saw it. But what Crowe and Cruise (and Cruz come to think of it) are giving you in this film is a new era. This movie is not aimed at any specific group. I'd have to say if anyone it's aimed at teenagers who are sick of teeny bopper films and some generation X'ers. I remember watching Castaway and Lord of the Rings and seeing people stand and cheer either at the end or at impressive moments. I nearly applauded this film for it's fantastic direction and momentum. Castaway was too long and Lord of the Rings...well nothing from 2001 or 2002 will compare to it. But Vanilla Sky is a look at our society and especially the highly sexual male. It picks apart the things we all know and none of us want to say. Male's won't want to admit that David is a bad character for having one night stands even though we know it's true. Females won't want to look like rebellious types for saying he's a jerk when he's doing what all their male friends do anyway. It's a sad cycle that equals dismal ticket sales.
Do not be turned away though. If you want to see the best non-Lord of the Rings film for the next 12 months then go see Vanilla Sky. Do it now. You will not regret this if you're like me and hate teeny bopper films and see horrible holes in the plots of movies like Ali.