STARS : TOM CRUISE, CAMERON DIAZ, JASON LEE, KURT RUSSELL, PENELOPE CRUZ & NOAH TAYLOR

After critical acclaim with his last two films (Jerry Maguire & Almost Famous) director Cameron Crowe decided that he simply had to remake the Spanish film “Abre Los Ojos” (Open Your Eyes). Crowe however came crashing down to earth though in a major way with his film being universally canned by everyone and vanishing quickly from box office’s world wide.

That said however Vanilla Sky is not a bad film, in fact it’s rather good with the only problem being the last 20 minutes. At this point the film throws people for a spin as it veers off off on such a strange tangent that it really stretches your imagination to the limit and most people just aren’t willing to take the leap of faith required to complete the journey undertaken.

The plot is as follows : David Aames (Cruise) is a womanising, wealthy and rich playboy in charge of a publishing company which he inherited from his late father. Despite seemingly HAVING it all, David’s life is empty. He is HAVING a no strings attached sexual relationship with Julie (Diaz) whom he doesn’t love and is simply using for a good time. Then of course there’s the board where he works who are resentful of the fact he inherited the company without working his way to the top and want him gone. The only person he can trust is his best friend Brian (Lee) yet even he is jealous of David’s for his good looks and his lifestyle.

But in the course of less than a day, David’s life will change forever. David throws a party and meets the enigmatic Sofia (Cruz) and is instantly smitten by the latino beauty. Leaving his own party to take Sofia home, David spends the night just talking, nothing more and in the process discovers his inner self.

Upon leaving David runs into Julie who’s extremely agitated by David’s lack of commitment and creates a major scene. David gets into the car in ORDER to placate the extremely upset Julie, who decides that life isn’t worth living without David and that the only way out is to commit suicide by driving her car off a bridge and taking David with her. Whilst the accident kills Julie, David surives although horribly disfigured forcing him to retreat behind a cosmetic mask.

The film spends a vast majority of it’s time between the past and the present leading up to David finding himself in prison after being charged with murder. We see a number of conversations between David and a psychologist (Russell) where he talks about his feelings for Sofia and his emotions post-accident.

It is difficult to discuss anymore of this film without spoiling what is essentially quite a bizarre storyline and ending but I will say this, it needs to be seen to be believed.

The support cast of Lee, Diaz, Russell and Taylor are all very good but ultimately are rather restricted by the plot which doesn’t allow them much scope to move. Cruz, is excellent as the mysterious Sofia and reprises her role from Abre Los Ojos with ease and is truly the standout.

Vanilla Sky is a clever film that tries far too hard to be something that it’s not and as a result will divide those who watch it. But there will be very few people who are able to walk away knowing for certain how they feel about it.

THE EXTRAS

* Audio Commentary : Director Cameron Crowe and Musical Scorist/Wife Nancy Wilson. Crowe takes the lead for the majority of the time and discusses a wide range of elements including the film’s strengths and weaknesses. I just wish Crowe wasn’t so proud of virtually every bloody scene in the film which gets a little tired after the 10th or 12th time.

- What is interesting is that about half way into the film during the night club scene, Crowe rings Tom Cruise and invites him to join in on the commentary which he does for the next 10 or so minutes. Top marks for originality here.

* Prelude To A Dream (6 Mins): This brief documentary is a summary of sorts of what the movie is about and how Cameron Crowe is probably the only person who knows exactly what he was trying to achieve.

* Hitting It Hard (The Vanilla Sky Press Tour 2001-2002) : This 10 minute featurette is a question and answers session asking “What the hell happened in the film’s conclusion and more importantly : “What does it mean”?

* Music : Interview with Paul McCartney (1:34 mins)- The Entertainment Tonight interview on how he made and recorded the song. Music Video (3:57 mins)- ‘Afrika Shox’ by Leftfield/Afrika Bambaataa

* Theatrical Trailers : Unreleased Teaser Trailer (1:30 mins) and international trailer (2:41 mins). Wisely the teaser trailer wasn’t released primarily as it gives away for too much of the films brilliant opening sequence in Times Square..

* Photo Galleries : Audio introduction by Photographer Neal Preston - A collection of 8 eight galleries with many photos from scenes in the movie as well as several, what looks like, more staged photos from the different cast members. Each gallery focuses on each other cast members, One- Penelope Cruz, Two- Cameron Diaz, Three- Kurt Russell, Four- Tom Cruise, Five- On Location, Six- Cast & Crew mucking around, Seven- Jason Lee, Eight- Tom, Cameron and Penelope.

* Credits : Text Stills for the DVD Credits

Easter Egg: Special Gag Reel runnig about 5 1/2 minutes in total. Without saying exactly where it is I will say this…..much like the movie itself “Photos Mask The Truth”

CONCLUSION

Strange is the word for this film although bewildering is also appropriate as it never quite decides whether it is trying to be a black comedy, a drama or even a romance and then during the last 20 minutes goes completely troppo! Definitely worth watching and given the excellence of the disk well worth buying….just make sure you like the movie first.

With thanks to Paramount for the review disc, Vanilla Sky will be available to rent from July 12 and to buy from early November.