HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
John Duigan's HEAD IN THE CLOUDS is a pretty period picture that's deadly dull. A long, rambling melodrama that never amounts to anything, it is centered on Gilda Bessé (Charlize Theron). Gilda is a tragic figure who burns her candle at both ends because a reluctant fortune teller told her when young that she would die at age 34. A wealthy woman, Gilda compensates for the predicted brevity of her life by sleeping with everything on two legs.
The most attractive of the two-legged creatures who come to Gilda's bed are Guy (Stuart Townsend) and Mia (Penélope Cruz). Guy is a frequent soldier with a penchant for dangerous assignments, fighting the Fascists in Spain and the Nazis in France. The always flirtatious Gilda originally meets Guy in Cambridge after having a spat with her boyfriend of the moment. "Beauty, bravery and brains," is how Gilda immediately sizes up Guy. Mia is an ex-dancer with a bum leg who works as a nurse in whatever war is handy.
The movie is set during the 1930s and 1940s. I tell you this mainly so that, when the end of World War II approaches, you'll know that you will soon be free from this almost inert story. There few genuine moments in this soporific tale. Let's just hope that real-life lovers Theron and Townsend have more spark than this in their off-screen romance.
HEAD IN THE CLOUDS runs a very long 2:12. It is rated R for "sexuality, nudity and some violence" and would be acceptable for most teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, September 24, 2004. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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