A worthy remake

Rating: 7/10 (28 March 2005)

"Vanilla Sky", Cameron Crowe's remake of the 1997 film "Abre los Ojos", written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar, had two potential strikes against it from the onset: It was a remake of a film that was made four years prior, and it was a remake of a film where the original reeked of sheer genius. Luckily, Crowe was able to overcome these two hurdles and make a solid film that stands on its own merits.
"Vanilla Sky" centers around David Aames, (Cruise) a spoiled rich kid who has inherited his father's vast wealth and publishing empire. David is an attractive man (and knows it) who lives a jet-set lifestyle that involves having as much fun as possible in every given moment. Julie Gianni (Diaz), a girl with whom he has a casual "sleeping arrangement" is not able to subscribe to this lifestyle and when she tries to glean more from the relationship, is cast aside. On the night of his birthday party, David's best friend Brian (Lee) brings his new friend Sofia (Cruz), and the two develop an instant connection. In an attempt to get away from the now stalkerish Julie, the two escape to Sofia's small apartment and proceed to have a wonderful, meaningful evening together wherein David's life seems to have changed for the better. On his way out the door, he runs into Julie, who has followed him to Sofia's apartment, and she convinces him to drive with her so he can "make it up to her". What happens during the rest of the film is a mixture of intrigue, murder and romance, at times blossoming and others faltering, and eventually becomes a race for David to find out the truth about what is really happening with his life and those who are involved in it.
I didn't want to get too spoilerish with the plot summary, because although the trailer for the film don't hide a lot in terms of plot points, some things that happen are still more shocking when you simply see them for yourself. "Vanilla Sky" has an intriguing and interesting plot that sincerely kept me guessing until the last five minutes of the film, something I was not expecting from a Cameron Crowe film. Cruise's David Aames is like Jerry Maguire if he was even more of an asshole in the beginning; charming, but so self-centered he practically leaks smarminess from his pores. I actually didn't think Crowe had it in him to produce such a well-executed psychological drama, but "Vanilla Sky" is a very good film. Once again, Crowe shines with his use of music, something that he has never faltered on. From "Say Anything" to "Almost Famous", he has exhibited the uncanny knack to take a song that is either historically beloved in its own right or one that one would never think to use in a particular film, and insert it into a scene that is so fitting that the song and scene become married to one another immediately. He did this with Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" in "Say Anything", he did it with "Tiny Dancer" in "Almost Famous" and the great musical moment (in my opinion) in "Vanilla Sky" was near the end when "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys is playing over a semi-chaotic scene. I'm not sure if this is one of them yet, but Crowe's knack for turning simple scenes into iconic moments in film is staggering and admirable.
The acting in "Vanilla Sky" is decent enough, none of it was really a stretch for Cruise, and Jason Lee was his usual laid-back self. The surprising performances for me personally were Cruz and Kurt Russell, who played a court-appointed psychologist. I'm not a fan of Penelope Cruz, but I found her casting to be absolutely perfect (not a stretch since she reprised her role from the Amenabar original). She was cute and quirky, but her vulnerability was so subtle that anytime I felt any kind of emotion, it was usually in response to a scene she was guiding. Also, Kurt Russell, a mediocre actor at best, was great as the psychologist; his strength and warmth are so low key that when a significant plot point about him is revealed at the end, you almost have to slap your forehead in an "Oh yeah!" reaction.
I really enjoyed seeing "Abre Los Ojos", and I think that it still has advantages other than its originality over "Vanilla Sky". But when gauging a film like "Vanilla Sky", a film that can be criticized as being Hollywoodized, bastardized and super-sized, it is a testimony to the film and filmmakers that it came out as good as it did. Being a foreign-film and independent film lover, I'll always like "Abre Los Ojos" thismuch better, but "Vanilla Sky" is a worthy remake. I highly recommend both. 7/10 --Shelly