- RELEASED: 2001
- RUNTIME: 136 mins
- WRITTEN BY: Cameron Crowe
- DIRECTED BY: Cameron Crowe
- STARRING: Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell, Jason Lee, Noah Taylor, Timothy Spall, Tilda Swinton
Ugh I’m conflicted! The majority of this movie is an absolute mess but I just love the idea of creating a weird, psychedelic thriller even if the execution is hit or miss. And the last act is so interesting for its brilliant questions and ideas. Just go to the Wikipedia page and check out all the interpretations. They’re so fascinating. But I also can’t really block out the fact that large amounts of the movie are an incoherent hodgepodge of different things happening all at once, sometimes letting the themes get lost in the shuffle. At the end when David yells “WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING??!!” I think he expressed the exact thought running through my mind and probably the minds of everyone else who has seen this movie. But in typical Cameron Crowe fashion, we do get a great soundtrack which actually adds to the melancholy and existential mood of the film. I’m not sure how much I actually liked the movie but it might be one I want to revisit some day.