Harry's VANILLA SKY review

VANILLA SKY unveiled as the 9:30pm film at BUTT-NUMB-A-THON 3.

I had invited the film to the festival sight unseen. I’d never seen Alejandro Amenábar’s ABRE LOS OJOS (OPEN YOUR EYES). I always wanted to, but it opened at the Dobie Theater here in Austin, and that’s the surest way to keep me from seeing a film. I prefer a DVD presentation in my home to the discomfort and truly bizarre film watching experience of the Dobie Theater.

Back in September I ordered the film on DVD, but it only just arrived today, so I have now seen it, though I did see Cameron Crowe’s VANILLA SKY first.

I think that’s a very important distinction as to the reason I feel the way I do about VANILLA SKY. I prefer his film to OPEN YOUR EYES. Having just seen both films I can say that Cameron’s film is my preferred film.

Cameron wanted no introduction for his film, he wanted it to just play… no audience preparation. The film would just suddenly hit the audience.

Prior to the film, I hit the audience with 25 minutes of Giant Bug and Animal trailers. Films like TARANTULA, KING KONG, DEADLY MANTIS, THEM and MONSTERS FROM GREEN HELL and a lot more.

After that I screened Will Vinton’s MOUNTAIN MUSIC, which really placed the audience in a very contemplative mood, a great mood for this film as it turned out.

Then the Paramount logo hit, the audience didn’t know what the movie was going to be, then suddenly "OPEN YOUR EYES" "OPEN YOUR EYES"

The Audience Screams, then settles in.

As this was my first introduction to the story of ‘OPEN YOUR EYES’ each and every surprise hit me like a revelation. I found the visuals quite arresting, the music propulsive and the story… Well frankly the story of VANILLA SKY played like a dream. Reality was constantly askewed. I had to wonder if Cruise’s character was sane, alive, dead, insane or fictional altogether.

To be honest, VANILLA SKY fucked with me pretty hard. I mean, coming off of KING KONG which has always been a reality bending film of the subconcious, to stumble into VANILLA SKY without any real preparation.. It was the way to see the film. Unhinged from reality, unsure of your grounding.

If you know nothing about VANILLA SKY, perfect… Go see it. Know that the film is from the collective minds of the man that brought you THE OTHERS earlier this year and Cameron Crowe, who has consistently cemented us generationally speaking to the world of film.

Cruise plays the role with more confused narcissism and prominence than Eduardo Noriega. You see, for me, Tom Cruise has a vitality of celebrity for me as a viewer that Eduardo doesn’t have. Eduardo is wonderful in the original film… However, I can believe Tom Cruise as a huge, bigger than life silver spooned fella in the film. He sells that at levels that Eduardo’s relative unknown status doesn’t. It is an intangible, that works to the benefit of the film.

Penelope Cruz is luminescent in the film, I liked her in OPEN YOUR EYES, but I truthfully feel that she is far more lovable in this film than she has ever been before. I have never seen the attraction to her before, but here… maybe it is simply the contrast between her and Cameron Diaz’s personality in this film. As a result, Cruz was just wonderful here.

Cameron Diaz. My one crushing problem with the film is that she didn’t drop the blanket, but um… that’s just not professional… Ahem… It is my feeling that Cameron Diaz continues her track on being my favorite all around actress working today. Cameron is simply hypnotically beautiful. Not only that, but she has an absolutely luminescent stellar gleam that radiates from her and infuses straight out of the screen and into us. She makes me hate Tom Cruise, she makes me feel that he needs his face ripped off for treating her for granted. Anyone that would have Diaz as an intimate… and then seek ANYTHING or ANYONE ELSE…. Insane! He deserved everything that came to him.

From that point on all the feelings of oppression that falls down upon Cruise’s character… I believe that it is deserved.

Now Cameron Diaz is one of the PRIME reasons why I prefer this version of Amenábar’s story. Diaz has a neediness and a desperation… as well as a love and a want and a desire and a spoiled innocence and a hurt. A hurt that I never registered from the first film. Her selling of that Julie is just stunning and so so sooooo important. If you don’t buy her, where she is coming from, the rest of the film would fall apart for me.

Ok, now Diaz and Cruise were two of the reasons I prefer this film to the original, the next is cinematographer John Toll. Toll’s work here is wonderful. His camera never lets me get a grip on what is and isn’t reality. Amenábar’s film is shot more grimy and dirty… more nightmarish in colors and tones. While that fits what is happening to the character in the latter part, it isn’t what the world was supposed to be from the beginning. As a result, I feel that the world, as captured by Toll’s camera, is more captivating and sells the story better.

I also prefer Jason Lee as the ‘best friend’. It might just be that I’m a total Jason Lee whore, but I love watching this guy on camera. Also, Kurt Russell’s psychiatrist was perfect and at the end of things… PERFECTION.

Finally, the key reason for me preferring this version is Cameron Crowe and the setting of the film within the context of the United States.

Crowe’s taste for music, his capturing of pop-iconography and the intermingling of that with our collective subconcious… Well, it just jives. It pops and it works for me. Why? Cameron, with his choice of music and imagery… the ever so slight visual changes. They are all latching on points for me as a viewer.

The scene at the beginning in an empty New York… That feels so genuinely creepy and poignant to me, particularly this year. To anyone that has ever been in TIME SQUARE, to see it empty in all directions. There was just something preternaturally befuddling about it. Signs, imagery, all selling to you the individual in a world devoid of human life, but echoing it with every billboard, every oversized television screen. The buildings… empty, no faces, no bodies, just you.

It played dead on right for me. The setting of OPEN YOUR EYES though wasn’t an added emotional connection. It just felt like… some place. VANILLA SKY taking place in New York, having that story told there… right now, meant quite a bit.

Seeing the World Trade Center there in the film, in this film, shown that way, when he’s doing what it is he’s doing. Just felt right. It felt so good to see it there, to see it NOT ERASED.

Well, I’m rambling. I just have to say that for me, walking into that film really unaware of what was going to happen. Coming off of ROCK ALL NIGHT and KING KONG… Both of which were also NEW YORK stories… It just seemed to play perfect for me and quite a bit of the BNAT audience.

I hope ya check it out, I’m really curious to hear what you folks thought as well.