No. 25 Vanilla Sky (2001) 12 of 100

 

This is a big budget and star studded affair in which Shannon merits 9^th billing, but barely gets a look in. He has a character name of ‘Aaron’ but has very little to do and says even less. I’m guessing a larger part was trimmed back somewhat but it must have been nice to be part of such a big production early in his career. This one came before ‘8 Mile’ and although I’ve yet to see all of his earlier films this must be his biggest to date, save maybe ‘Pearl Harbour’.

Tom Cruise stars as a playboy magazine publisher in New York. He has a swanky apartment and a nice Ferrari. He was handed everything when his parents died, and apart from some boardroom issues, he’s living the high life. He has a buddy in ‘My Name Is Earl’s Jason Lee and a part-time lover in Cameron Diaz. Nice work if you can get it.

The fun times are intercut with Tom being in prison accused of murder. He’s being interviewed by prison psychologist Kurt Russell and is being guarded by our man Shannon who seems to be both a guard and a cop at the same time. This seems a bit strange but we’ve only just started! Tom is wearing a latex mask and we soon learn that he is facially disfigured. We learn through flashbacks that his injuries came from his foolishly accepting a lift from Diaz who then crashes the car, killing herself.

Other flashbacks show Tom struggling with his disfigurement and later having his good looks restored. All the while he is wooing Penelope Cruz and admiring a freckle on her breast – the pair break up and are later restored, but a troubling vision of Tom suffocating a women during sex makes us wonder who he’s killed and what is real.

Later on, an encounter in a bar with a slow talking man suggests that Tom is in fact omnipotent and the ‘vanilla skies’ in this reality, which mirror some seen earlier in a Monet painting, suggest all is not what it seems.

I liked this film although it barely qualifies as a part of the Shannon canon. He’s seen in a couple of scenes but is basically a glorified extra. He does what he needs to do capably but he is underused and that’s a pity as you can tell he’s keen to be involved.

The film kept me guessing to some degree but as soon as a miracle cure arrived I knew all what not what it seemed. Tom did well with a challenging part and one that had him wearing an ugly face prosthesis for much of it. The cast were uniformly good and it was fun to see Barry off ‘Auf Wiedersehen Pet’ in a significant role. Tom’s lavish life was well realised with a lovely flat and cars, as well as an impressive party guest list that included Steven Spielberg.

The film was directed and adapted by Cameron Crowe and was a good use of the source material without copying it frame by frame. Cruz and Diaz were lovely and beautifully shot and although somewhat unnecessary, it was fun to see name actors in all the roles. I think that could be justified in the end – who’s dreaming of nobodies when you can get Tilda Swinton on for a couple of minutes instead?

The ending was not a major surprise and it was left to your own interpretation as to what has actually transpired. ‘Life on Mars’ shamelessly nicked the ending but I also liked the idea that the whole film was just the novel that Jason Lee was never getting around to finishing.

All in all a bit of a mind bender but nice to look at and refreshingly different. Albeit for a remake!

When is Shannon-On? - 11.28

Outcome? Stuck in the office lobby

Film 4/5

Shannon Stars 1/5