Rated: R
Running Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Tabitha's Rating:****/5
Synopsis: A man falls in love, is accused of murder, and becomes horribly disfigured but the real problem is deciphering between dreams and reality
I never, ever thought I would say this, but Tom Cruise was UGLY in a movie. The good news, he only looks bad for half the movie, the other half, he is gorgeous as usual. But Tom Cruise's looks are beside the point in Vanilla Sky. His looks are only a small bonus, the film itself is good enough to see even if he was not in it.
This is not a mindless film, so be expecting a little bit of twisting your brain. Although it is a little hard to understand what is going on, after all the main character, David Aamies, had no idea what is going on either, you are still able to follow the film. Don't think too hard, just watch and enjoy, it all comes together and makes sense in the end. And more than likely, the explanation isn't something you would think of anyway, which is a good thing because most movies today are so predictable.
I am not a big fan of Penelope Cruz, but I was able to set aside my predetermined opinion of her and I came to like the character she portrays, and herself as an actress. She is so cute and the personality of her character, Sophia shines, so it easy to believe that David could fall in love with her so easily and quickly.
The plot of the film is unique, original, and enjoyable. I don't want to give too much of it away. There are some really cool scenes. It begins with a Tom alone in Time Square. Did you catch that, alone. The entire busy, famous area was completely cleared out of all people. You can definately feel how freaked out the character was at this. It's like waking up to discover you are the last man alive. In the end, there is a great scene with the background as a beautiful sky...it looks rather vanilla actually.
Bottomline: It's a great movie, go see it, and don't worry too much about trying to understand right away, it will all work out.
