Film Review - Vanilla Sky

Vanilla Sky is a film from 2001, directed by Cameron Crowe which stars Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz and Kurt Russel. I bought this film a few weeks ago, and it's been sitting on my shelf gathering dust, untill tonight when I had some free time to watch it.

It's a very confusing film, and has undertones of the New Wave genre streaked through it with frequent jump cuts, and use of fourth wall tricks, there are also a few references to French director, Jean Luc Godard in the form of posters and a direct reference to "A Bout de Souffle".

Tom Cruise plays David Aames, a successful publisher slash womaniser, who is having a 'friends with benefits' relationship with Julie (Cameron Diaz) which ends in tragedy and spirals into the surreal events that create the plot of the film.

The whole cast in this film are brilliant, but Penelope Cruz is just stunning and consistent. Portraying a believable and demure character, Sophia. Against the Monet skies, Cruz looks beautiful and commands you to feel heartbroken for her, and for Cruise. There are some fantastic shots in this film that are consistent and help to paint the story and breathe life, and to keep the audience transfixed to the screen.

There are some great philosophical references in this film, and as a philosophy student myself, I found them well placed and appropriate. I have to say though, this is not The Matrix. It has a similar idea of the 'blue pill, red pill' but this is not a Keanu Reeves film - and it's not The Matrix. Don't compare the two at all. They are as different as wind is from fire.

I can't say a lot about this film without having to add spoilers, but I think that most avid film lovers would enjoy this film just as much as I did, and I would go so far as to say that this is more of a work of art than anything I have seen in a long time. There are poignant moments, adventure, thrill and romance spun into the intricate web of Vanilla Sky, and it's easy to see why some people would hate this film. Long shots can be boring for some, it's not a typical Tom Cruise 'Mission Impossible' movie and it can be very hard to follow and it's a drawn out film - but in my opinion it's well worth sitting through to the end.

My Verdict
I think Vanilla Sky is a beautiful and demanding film, it is one for the academics as it is so stylish, but with enough filmatic and cultural references to keep you on your toes - as well as a cameo from Mr Steven Spielberg (I won't tell you where he is, I hope you'll now be playing 'Where's Stevie?') It is a film which has 'Marmite' stamped over it, but I loved every last second of it.

5/5