give Cameron Crowe credit for trying

Rating: 5/10 (20 September 2006)

It's always nice to see Hollywood embracing alternate and foreign cinema, but sometimes I really wish that would mean that foreign films would get a wider release and acceptance in the U.S. instead of American audiences receiving yet another sanitized version of a great film from another country. This is exactly how I see "Vanilla Sky" (a remake of the 1997 film "Open Your Eyes").
I must give Cameron Crowe credit for making a valiant effort at shooting such a seemingly unconventional piece, given his resume. In truth, unlike the psychological thriller that the story was previously, Crowe has made something far more romantic.
A love for the original piece is clear throughout much of the running time, as it hits each and every beat of that film, and he even uses some of the same camera angles. Oh, Mr. Crowe truly liked "Open Your Eyes"! Unfortunately it seems that Tom Cruise wasn't willing to fall in love and give himself fully to his character. Both movies deal with a man who is disfigured in an accident. Why is it that in this sanitized version the injuries don't seem all that bad? I could stand to look at Cruise more than the character from the original, whose face was deformed on the border of recognition.
To top that off "Vanilla Sky" attempts to make sense of a very thought provoking premise. The last twenty minutes of the film are used up by explanations for the proceedings, even to the point of redundancy. Stop spoon feeding, Hollywood!