...or IS IT?

Rating: 9/10 (11 December 2001)

There are spoilers here. Be forewarned.
Between "Waking Life," "Mulholland Drive," and this one, "Vanilla Sky," I'm wondering when the hell *I'm* gonna wake up. Dreams have had a rebirth in the medium of motion pictures, and why not? They're fertile ground for material and give the director a much more broad visual landscape. Remember when studios had animated bugs, haunted houses and comets battling each other at the box office? And they say the movie industry's gone down the toilet.
"Vanilla Sky" is a remake of the 1997 Spanish film called "Abre Los Ojos." That film was directed by Alejandro Amenabar. While I admire Amenabar's work, (He went on to direct "The Others.") his source material doesn't hold a candle to the remake by vastly underrated writer-director Cameron Crowe. Crowe has done two personal and character driven masterpieces ("Say Anything..." and "Almost Famous.") and I must admit that I had some hesitancy to see the advanced screening that I saw this evening. Crowe's forte is small, personal films, and the previews would have us believe that this is some super-charged erotic thriller designed purely to earn untold millions. But in reality, "Vanilla Sky" is anything but. What I love about Crowe's films is that his characters always have the right things to say. Not so much in the dialogue sense, but in the fact that one line an actor can deliver can give a very real sense of a feeling or an emotion.
And the cast Crowe has wrangled to deliver these lines is top notch. Penelope Cruz gives off great vulnerability that would not be normally seen when her sex kitten image is taken into account. Cameron Diaz is very good at using her face to reveal dark undertones through a sunny demeanor. Jason Lee has a believability that could convince one that he could walk off the screen and talk to you. But the really impressive performance is by Tom Cruise, who plays a millionaire womanizer who is horribly disfigured after a car accident. He hits his notes of bitterness very well, considering that he's Tom Cruise and has precious damn little to be bitter about.
"Vanilla Sky" is so full of secrets that I've probably given a few away already with out having meant to. Sorry about that. But this movie is about the domain of dreams, and the only problem I have with "Vanilla Sky" is at the end, everything is explained. This is not bad in and of itself, but "Mulholland Drive," David Lynch's far superior film, deliberately didn't explain anything. That left the viewer with an urge to make up an explanation and become an armchair Freud. This leaves you with nothing to say but "Wow. That was a good movie."
***1/2 out of 4