‘Vanilla Sky’ an edgy departure for Crowe

In theaters

VANILLA SKY, written and directed by Cameron Crowe. 130 minutes. Rated R.

“Most of us live our whole lives without any real adventure to call our own,” says a character in Cameron Crowe’s bold new movie, “Vanilla Sky.” “What is any life if not the pursuit of a dream?”

David Aames (Tom Cruise), the super-rich, ultraspoiled publishing tycoon at the heart of this trippy tale, certainly finds out.

Indeed, when David’s charmed life is ripped apart after dumping his off-and-on sex partner Julie Gianni (Cameron Diaz) for the softer, prettier curves of Sofia Serrano (Penelope Cruz), he’s tossed into a nightmare of his own.

The full extent of that nightmare won’t be revealed here, but since it does take up 75 percent of the movie elements will be discussed. Reader beware.

“Vanilla Sky” is a reworking of Alejandro Amenabar’s 1998 Spanish stunner, “Open Your Eyes.” It’s not as stark or as emotionally chilly as that film, which starred Cruz in the same role, but then how could it be given that it’s named after a painting by Monet and that it comes from the director of “Say Anything,” “Jerry Maguire” and “Almost Famous,” three films that established Crowe as an unabashed romantic.

That said, “Sky” stands as Crowe’s edgiest, most uncommercial film, a true departure that never would have been made without the director’s influence and the box-office appeal of his superstar cast. For Crowe, the project must have been liberating. Imagine the freedom of not warming the masses with sentiment, the thrill of asking viewers to open their eyes and think.

Without giving too much away, “Vanilla Sky” follows this year’s other head trips – “Waking Life,” “Mulholland Drive” and “Memento” – in that it tackles 2001’s most provocative theme for filmmakers: What happens when our dreams collide with reality?

For David Aames, what happens is a disfiguring car accident, a murder rap, the potential loss of his publishing empire and the nagging idea that the love of his life might be a figment of his imagination.

What’s real? What isn’t? Crowe blurs the lines and shakes up the landscape, but he doesn’t show his hand. As “Vanilla Sky” jackknifes into its wealth of Lynchian twists and Kubrickian turns, most of which make little sense until the film’s final moments, the audience is asked to be patient in ways that most mainstream movies never ask.

That decision might kill the film’s appeal with some, but keep in mind that an open mind might also free it with others.

Grade: B+

On video and DVD

MOULIN ROUGE, directed by Baz Luhrmann. Written by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce. 126 minutes. PG-13.

In the dizzying opening moments of Baz Luhrmann’s decadent musical, “Moulin Rouge,” Luhrmann takes audiences on a wild ride over the rooftops of Paris at the turn of the last century.

Ripped from F.W. Murnau’s 1926 silent film, “Faust,” the opening shot is among the first of several pop-culture references, a great deal of which are hurled at the screen at a pace that’s so frenzied, the film – not to mention the audience – threatens to explode in the eye-popping excess.

Everything in the first 30 minutes of “Moulin Rouge” seems to be strung out on too much caffeine, too much cocaine, too much joie de vivre, too much Gay Paris, too much, well, too much.

But what a show. The film, which is inspired by the famous Parisian nightclub, is pure Bollywood bombast, an imperfect fantasy filled with perfect moments that are absolutely original in spite of being completely unoriginal.

Irony, you see, is Mr. Luhrmann’s gift, a device the director uses to powerful effect as he presses his tongue firmly to his cheek.

“Moulin Rouge” is about a lot of things, but mostly it’s about love – romantic love, love of life, culture, truth, myth, illusion, kitsch, camp and Bohemia. It follows the romance between Satine (Nicole Kidman), the tragic star of the Moulin Rouge, and Christian (Ewan McGregor), the writer who comes to love her. When Christian is asked by Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo) to write a new show called “Spectacular Spectacular” for the financially strapped nightclub, the dastardly Duke of Worcester (Richard Roxburgh) agrees to produce it, but not without a catch – the Duke wants Satine for himself, which ultimately pushes everyone involved to a breaking point.

With Kidman freer than she’s ever been and McGregor showcasing a surprisingly strong voice and a wicked charm, “Moulin Rouge” is a crazed visual feast festooned in high period style.

Does it work? For the most part, absolutely. But much like “Vanilla Sky,” you might want to take a nap afterward.

Grade: A-

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, Tuesdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5” and Thursdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5:30” on WLBZ-2 and WCSH-6. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.