Complex 'Vanilla Sky' well worth repeated viewings

Rated: R

Spanish director Alejandro Amenbar scored a big plus with his American debut, the melodramatic horror film "The Others." It was a creepy suspense drama that did a fine job of giving the audience a collective case of the willies while keeping them entirely engrossed and entertained.

With the success of that film, I've wondered why his masterpiece, "Abre los Ojos" ("Open Your Eyes"), wasn't released in the United States.

Instead we have director Cameron Crowe doing a "remake" called "Vanilla Sky." While I do long to see the original, Crowe's version is a completely satisfying piece of work, and by all accounts it stays true to its predecessor.

Star Tom Cruise is also credited as a "producer" of "Vanilla Sky," so you know his heart (and wallet) are in the film. It's pretty easy to see why.

Not since Wim Wender's "Wings of Desire" have I seen a movie that deals so adeptly with the human condition.

Crowe, who has directed a diverse lot of films from "Say Anything" to "Jerry Maguire" to "Almost Famous," has delivered a masterpiece with "Vanilla Sky." It's a story that will keep you thinking a long while after the final credits roll, which is the highest compliment that can be given to any work of art.

Metaphysical meditative moviemaking, when done properly, is a good thing, and Crowe certainly proves it here. He shows his skill of being a completely "personal" filmmaker with his direction as well as his adaptation of the rather complex screenplay.

Cruise stars as David Aames, a 30-something tycoon who's inherited not only his wealth, but his station. He's a guy who has, and is pretty certain he deserves, everything.

He's bedding Julie (Cameron Diaz in yet another role where she proves she's a lot more than just a pretty face) but assures her, and himself, that their affair is nothing more than ... an affair.

At his self-thrown birthday party, David becomes enamored with the radiant Sofia (Penelope Cruz, reprising her role from the original "Abre los Ojos"), and we get the feeling David might just settle down. This is not to be the case. Not by a long shot.

After an evening spent with Sofia, David gets in a car with Julie, who is more than a little distressed. She's bent on suicide and takes David with her as she drives herself off the interstate and into oblivion.

She dies.

David lives, but his looks, and life, are changed beyond belief.

It's here that "Vanilla Sky" kicks into its point.

David, whose psyche is as scarred as his face, begins to question his life; his very existence.

The screenplay, however, never lets us know exactly what's real and what might be just in David's head. In this way, "Vanilla Sky" reminded me a lot of Roman Polanski's "The Tenant." It also brings to mind more recent works like "The Sixth Sense."

There's an eerie, downright astonishing shot early in the film where David finds himself entirely alone in the middle of Times Square. The shot, which is done without enhancements or special effects, Crowe got the NYC Film Commission to let him block off the area for three hours one Sunday morning sets the tone for the entire film and makes us, as well as the main character, question what is and isn't real.

Crowe manipulates the film medium with finesse, and he is able to keep the viewer as confused as the main character without making his story a matter of frustration.

It's a fine line to walk, and my hat's off to him for pulling the whole thing together with such skill. I don't know if it will happen, but he surely deserves a nomination at the upcoming Oscars.

A lot of my movie-loving friends, as well as a number of critics who have reviewed "Vanilla Sky," have been to see the film twice.

It is rather confusing at times and demands attention, but in a good way. It's a film and story that deserves a second viewing, and it will be a welcome release when it comes out for the home video market.

Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.[[In-content Ad]]