I told you Tom, stop thinking about Nicole

Much talked about yet ultimately disappointing big name movie which nevertheless has a cracking soundtrack.

Nigel Bell

There's much to praise Vanilla Sky for, indeed for two thirds of it's two and a quarter hours, there's a rollercoaster of genres, fine acting, great music.

Unfortunately the run-in to the movie is a big letdown if only because the final scene could be interpreted as taking you back to the beginning of the story, therefore making you ask yourself "why bother?"

The Plot
Cruise plays playboy David Aames, who's inherited his father's publishing business and can have anything he desires, including women.

OK, let's see if you kiss as well as Nicole

For all this he's lonely, a fact drawn out in a great opening dream sequence which sees Aames sprinting through a deserted Times Square (the film company managed to get 40 blocks of New York sealed off from 5 - 8am one Sunday, November morning).

Events take a turn at Aames's birthday party when he's introduced to Sofia (Cruz). The attraction is instant. Later it seems both have found true love.

That's bad news for Aames's old flame, Julie (Diaz), who picks up her former beau after his idyllic night with Sofia.

Julie flips and ends up driving her car over a bridge, killing herself and putting Aames in a coma, disfiguring his face in the process.

From hereon in things get pretty weird with Aames being accused of murder. But murdering whom?

The verdict
Vanilla Sky, a remake of Spanish director Alesandro Amenábar's Open Your Eyes, is multi-layered and crosses a host of genres - thriller, love, film-noir and finally sci-fi.

How about you? Oh yes, I think I'll take you to my next premier

However, for the first hour and a quarter you wonder what all the fuss is about, the film seemingly following a logical thread.

It suddenly spirals and you do become disorientated. It's great, trying to work out what's truth and fiction, what's dream and reality, who it is that's actually been murdered.

But when everything is explained (in the sci-fi period) it all becomes a little too far fetched and at it's conclusion, when one possible option is that the whole film has been a dream, you do feel cheated.

That said there's great acting, especially from Cruise and Diaz, who turns in a Glenn Close style-performance circa Fatal Attraction.

Ultimately though, it's a bit like being back in class with the teacher saying you have two minutes to finish your creative writing. Panicking you go for that fail-safe option "and then I woke up and it had all been a dream."