Here in the Prime Screening Room, I highlight Amazon Prime Instant Videos that are not only free for Prime members to watch, but well worth the time spent viewing them.
Today’s pick: Vanilla Sky (R, 3.5/5 stars average Amazon review rating, currently priced at $2.99 to rent and $9.99 to buy, and currently FREE for Amazon Prime members to view). On Amazon, here’s how the movie is described:
A successful publisher finds his life taking a turn for the surreal after a car accident with a jaded lover.
That doesn’t quite cover it, though. Here’s how I would describe the plot:
We’re introduced to David Aames (Tom Cruise) as a man incarcerated for murder, wearing a prosthetic mask to hide his disfigurement. Flashing back, we learn more about who he was and what his life was like before the incidents that led to his accident and arrest…
David Aames seems like he has it all: tremendous wealth, good looks, popularity, an inherited publishing empire, and women throwing themselves at him. One woman in particular, Julie Gianni (Cameron Diaz) has obviously taken their friends-with-benefits arrangement much more to heart than David, but he studiously refuses to acknowledge the depth of her feelings for him while continuing to take advantage of all she has to offer him sexually.
On the night of his 33rd birthday, his best friend Brian Shelby (Jason Lee), a novelist whose book is being published by Aames’ company, brings Sofia (Penelope Cruz) as his date and David is instantly smitten. As usual, David sees what he wants and goes for it, giving no thought to the pain his actions will cause Brian or Julie—whom he didn’t even care enough about to invite to the party, but who showed up anyway and is devastated to see David chatting up Sofia. When Julie purposely drives off a bridge in an apparent suicide attempt with David in the car, everything changes.
From there, the story switches back and forth between the present counseling sessions David is having in prison with the psychologist McCabe (Kurt Russell) and David’s flashbacks. At some point Aames realizes/remembers that the accident happened and that he was hospitalized for an extended period, then recalls his fateful, rocky reunion with Sofia. At first she seems nervous and a little scared of him, but eventually she comes around to helping nurse him through the rest of his recovery. It becomes difficult for McCabe, as well as the viewer, to tell how much of Aames’ story is real and how much is hallucination, delusion or something else. Again and again, the fact that ‘someone died’ keeps coming back, and it begins to appear that David killed Sofia in a hallucinatory rage.
My Take
That’s all I can say without giving away too many spoilers, but suffice it to say: this is more of a “thinkie” than a “movie”. It’s one of those films where a big reveal in the third act makes you want to watch it all over again from the beginning, and in my opinion, the movie gets better and richer with repeated viewings. It has certain underpinnings in common with The Matrix, and I suspect if this film had been released after The Matrix it would’ve been better-understood and better-received.
This quirky, surreal film has become one of my favorites, and it seems every time I watch it I pick up on some new detail or nuance I missed all the times before. The performances are uniformly strong, and Cameron Diaz is a particular standout. She’s one of those actresses who seems to be cast in most films as much for her looks as any acting ability, but her portrayal of Julie is filled with subtle pathos. Far too often, actors go cartoonish or cliche when playing a deranged or emotionally disturbed person, but with Diaz’ portrayal of Julie, you can see a real person there and understand (if not agree with) her actions.
I rate this movie 5/5 stars, but you may need to watch it more than once to get to that rating level.
The eclectic, carefully-curated soundtrack is excellent, and has become one of my favorite albums as well. It includes tracks from Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Nancy Wilson (of Heart), Paul McCartney, Todd Rundgren, Jeff Buckley, R.E.M. and more.