Penelope started to doze off during the Eyes Wide Shut/Magnolia double feature.

I loved this movie. I usually make you work a little harder in these reviews to find my opinion, wrapping it in lots of words that I hope pass for wit and insight, but given the lukewarm to downright hostile reaction Vanilla Sky is getting from many critics (the — what’s that word again? Oh yeah — “professionals”) I felt I should state plainly and clearly, right at the beginning, that I think it’s a great film.

It’s the story of David Aames, (Tom Cruise) young, wealthy, handsome and “living the dream.” David runs a publishing empire left to him by his larger than life, impossible to live up to father. He’s helped in this by a board of directors, who disapprove of him, and his father’s faithful lawyer. “I still believe in this family, David,” he says. “Even if it’s only you.” He means it as a compliment.

David has a lot of friends, but really only one, Brian, (Jason Lee) who likes David and envies him in equal measure. There’s also a woman, Julie, (Cameron Diaz) who David doesn’t give much thought to when they’re not in bed, which turns out to be a mistake.

At his birthday party, David instantly becomes smitten with Brian’s date Sofia (Penelope Cruz). He pursues her and they share the kind of sparkling, flirtatious dialogue rarely heard outside of movies. Things look great for David and Sofia; this may be love. But if you’ve seen the trailers, you know that Julie comes along and what happens next is bad.

Tom soon tired of Jason Lee's "pull my finger" gag.

Vanilla Sky is, in part, a love story. It’s also about how actions have consequences, some we could never see coming and some we really should. And about desperation and wanting something so badly you kill your chance of ever getting it. It’s about choices, responsibility, the saddest girl to ever hold a martini and people who may or may not be from Ohio.

It also turns fairly surreal for it’s last hour, the point at which a lot of people give up on it. (The woman next to me, for one, judging by all the sighing.) The complaints I’ve heard are that this section is pointless and confusing. I disagree. I think it’s challenging. You need to pay attention, listen to the dialogue, put things in context, then re-think when the context changes. Events, images and words can be interpreted different ways. To me, this is a large part of the movie’s appeal. (Besides, you think this is surreal and confusing? Go see Mulholland Drive. Now quit your whining.)

But aside from the intellectual exercise of trying to understand the plot, Vanilla Sky also worked for me on an emotional level. I cared about these characters, from David to Brian to poor, psycho Julie. I was happy when they were happy, sad when they were sad. (I drew the line at going crazy when they were crazy. Critical detachment has to kick in somewhere.) Writer/director Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) has an enviable talent for creating characters. Within a few minutes of screen time, with a well-chosen action or sharply written line, we start to know a person, and want to know more.

Credit should be shared with the actors. Tom Cruise’s David is a variation on a theme for him, another version of the cocky golden boy he’s played before in movies like Jerry Maguire and Eyes Wide Shut. He uses this to his advantage, luring us in with a wink and a smile, then disarms us with vulnerability, first in his puppy love devotion to Sofia and then in his meltdown when things go very wrong.

Cameron Diaz in the worst Santa Claus costume ever.

Cameron Diaz and Jason Lee also manage to bring depth and nuance to their characters. Penelope Cruz, as the sprightly Sofia, is charming as well, though sometimes a little too precious for my taste. I know she’s supposed to be David’s ideal woman, but a flaw or two would have made her a little more relevant for me.

Okay, so here’s the end of the review and I guess I should warn you that there are reasons why people don’t like this movie and I can understand some of them. It’s not for every taste. For me, the only thing keeping it from a perfect rating is that the final scenes, in which the story is resolved (or is it?) drag on a little long. I felt like I got the point long before Crowe stopped making it and I was getting a little impatient.

Small matter. From beginning to end, it touched me and it made me think and – I’ll say it again – I loved it. Hope you do too.

Gorilla Pants rating: 3.5 out of 4 bananas