An amazing experience

Rating: Null/10 (3 September 2002)

*SPOILER*
I never quite knew what to expect from this movie. The advertising campaign had not been compelling (selling it as a strange murder mystery, which is only half right) and it has two `stars' that I don't usually care for (Cameron Diaz and Cruise). Add to that some dire reviews I had come across, and you don't have a compelling movie experience.
But then along came a sale. For $10 I was finally willing to part with some cash in the off chance that the film was actually worth the two hours or so it runs. Boy, am I ever glad I did.
Total Recall is an action movie that has seen better days. It is one of those movies that had cutting edge effects at the time of its release, and now looks horribly dated. The sets are small, and look anything but convincing, the spaceships and masks look fake and daft.
Total Recall is a film that was basically a star vehicle for Schwarzenegger. It deals with the implanting of a false memory into the head of a man who was once a secret agent. The procedure unlocks his memories, and things turn into the typical action movie from there.
The connection between Vanilla Sky and Total Recall is that of implanted memories. Vanilla Sky fine tunes this idea, smooths out the rough edges, and takes the action into the realm of emotions rather that fire and explosions. It is subtle, but no less devastating. Its action sequences are always dream like, robbing them of the excitement they night have provided, instead feeding them with emotional impact that far exceeds what Total Recall did. When Recall is done, you are left with adrenaline overload, with the feeling of having seen high adventure. With Vanilla sky you can only feel a little melancholy. Vanilla has the heart and soul, and Recall has the brawn.
The story of Vanilla Sky is probably well known by now, and I am not going to go over it again here. Essentially it is the story of a man who tries to outrun his pain, only to have it catch up with him in the safest of places (his dreams). Cruise does a fine job, as does everyone involved. In fact, this is one of the few films that had a huge impact on me once it was done. It was 1:00am when this one ended - and I went for a walk through the streets of Landau thinking it over. I was out for over an hour, such was the impact.
Once again I get to point a guilty finger at the marketing idiots who sold this movie as being something with a lot of action. It has mystery, and that mystery can be infuriating - as everything is not revealed until the final frames. It's a movie that you have to enter without preconceptions, and you must be willing to go along with it, keeping all your questions until the last moment. It is also a movie that I would have hated to have seen in a cinema. It is far better suited to a dark room, solo viewer, letting it fill the silence. All in all, Vanilla Sky is one of the most effecting viewings I have seen in recent times. I enjoyed Black Hawk Down, but not at this level. I'm glad I own this DVD, and look forward to seeing it many times over. My wife has yet to see it - but I cannot wait for her reaction when she does. This movie is like a gift from movie-making, critics are often wrong, and in this case, they should be ignored.