Product: Head in the Clouds (2004)
Rating: 4.0
Generally fun to watch, but it's dull in parts
Head in the Clouds was absolutely hammered by the critics when it came out last year - somewhat unjustifiably. The movie really isn't that bad - Dr. Zhivago it is not, but it is certainly better than some of the trash coming out of Hollywood. Yes - there are lots of dull bits, and the film is about thirty minutes too long, but visually The Head in the Clouds is just gorgeous, and Charlize Theron looks so glamorous, that the Director John Duigan could probably be forgiven for churning out a film that is kind of hokey and B-grade art house. Even the love scenes between Charlize and her real life beau Steward Townsend have a kind of fake, staged period falseness to them, coming across as mildly titillating soft core cable porn for the Merchant Ivory set, than fully fledged genuine eroticism.The narrative follows the lives of three people during the tumultuous 1920's and 1930's. The film begins in Cambridge as Guy, (Townsend) - an aspiring young writer, amateur boxer, and political idealist - meets the beautiful, wealthy Gilda (Theron). Gilda - a self-described "modern" woman - is a reckless hedonist, who lives purely for pleasure and self-satisfaction. The daughter of an American socialite and a French champagne tycoon, she refuses to celebrate birthdays, dabbles in professional photography, and firmly believes that one should look out for oneself first. Guy and Gilda have a passionate affair, but Gilda's freewheeling spirit (and her newly-found inheritance) gives her the wonder lust. They stay in touch, however, and reconnect in the arty Paris of the 1930's, just before the German occupation.By now Gilda is heavily involved with Mia, (Penelope Cruz), a sexy, crippled Spanish exotic dancer, and the three of them settle into a comfortable, bohemian ménage à trios. But Gilda's non-committal attitudes towards sex, politics, and the rapidly changing world, lead to a rift between all three. The core of the film evolves around how they negotiate through such tumultuous territory, as Guy and Mia are both idealists and are dedicated to fighting with the republication revolution in the Spanish Civil War, much to Gilda's dismay and disgust. Gilda's unabashed selfishness and her commitment to self-preservation at whatever cost ultimately gets her into all sorts of trouble, with Guy, with Europe's encroaching totalitarian regimes, and with the French resistance.Divided into three parts and taking place in three different countries - England, Spain and France - A Head in the Clouds certainly has pretensions towards romantic greatness, but the movie heavily emphasizes the visual - mostly in the form of sexy, colourful set pieces - over astute character development, a tight plot, and a strong script. The actors are all adequate in their roles, and the breathtaking Theron, looks as glamorous as any actress could be, but she can't carry the movie just on glamour alone. The story lumbers and drags, becoming more convoluted as the film progresses, and there's a whole messy subplot involving Guy, the French resistance, and the explosion of a Nazi train that goes on forever and adds absolutely nothing to the main story.However, the movie is fun to watch for Theron's antics, her assorted hairstyles, and the way she wraps men (and women) around her finger. Her hedonistic egotism is ironically the key to her growth and security, and it is ultimately this self-centeredness that is her undoing. A Head in the Clouds had a lot of potential to be a great movie - it is certainly good in parts, and deals with issues such as idealism, loyalty, and the choices people make in times of war. But the movie all too often gets sidetracked into unintentional camp, and it eventually becomes side splittingly funny when it's not really supposed to be. Mike Leonard January 05.