We've avoided it for a long time, this most un-Cameron like project, based on Abre Los Ojos (written by Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil; and you can hear Penelope Cruz speak these words right at the start, which is cool) - 'the Cameron that got away'. It was a most welcome re-acquaintanceship, though through much of the film we were admittedly puzzled (yet intrigued). Is the bar scene a mirror of the party? Is there a corporate conspiracy?
It sounds like a Cameron Crowe film, in places, and you notice the fake skies. And yes, you notice Noah Taylor ('tech support') was from the operation scene, though by now it's all gone a bit Last Year at Marienbad mixed up with The Manchurian Candidate - though the ultimate explanation for characters' origins is wholly unexpected and brilliant. Some of it's very funny, especially the Lucid Dream stuff, and the frozen dog business.
We liked Tom Cruise in those days, before he was an alien, though Penelope Cruz probably steals the acting honours - Cameron Diaz is good too though. With Jason Lee, Timothy Spall, Kurt Russell, Jonathan Galecki, Tilda Swinton, Michael Shannon.
What's the lesson? "You need the sour to appreciate the sweet." Loved that elevator to heaven, which seems quite Powell & Pressburgerish. And the weirdness of Cruise with his mask on the back of his face.
Shot by John Toll. That final montage - edited by Joe Hutshing and Mark Livolsi - is so amazing we had to watch it first in slow mo (which was still too fast) then in the slowest mo - to really appreciate what went into it (some of Cameron's home movies, we guess).
If it doesn't have cult status it should have. Great soundtrack, of course, including one of Q's favourite Stones songs 'Heaven'.
Amenábar, quoted on 'The Uncool' website:
“When I learned, quite some time ago now, that Cameron Crowe was going to write and direct the film based on Open Your Eyes with Tom Cruise in the leading role, I felt honored. Now that I have seen Vanilla Sky, I couldn’t be more proud. Cameron has all my respect and admiration. Respect, for having plumbed the deepest meaning of the work. Admiration, for having sought new viewpoints and a fresh approach to the mise-en-scene, giving the film his own unmistakable touch. Vanilla Sky is as true the original spirit as it is irreverent towards its form, and that makes it a courageous, innovative work. I think I can say that, for me, the projects are like two very special brothers. They have the same concerns, but their personalities are quite different. In other words, they sing the same song but with quite different voices: one likes opera, and the other likes rock and roll.”
For a while, it's like watching a film on a slope, but it's absolutely stupendous.
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