Time: 117 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Low level violence & low level sex scenes
Cast:
Eduardo Noriega as César
Fele Martínez as Pelayo
Penélope Cruz as Sofía
Najwa Nimri as Nuria
Tristán Ulloa as Camarero
Chete Lera as Antonio
Director: Alejandro Amenábar

At first when I saw that Open Your Eyes was the next movie to be shown at my local film society, I had no idea what to expect from it as I had never heard about it before. I did a little digging and found out that it would be later remade as Vanilla Sky (which I had heard of, but hadn’t seen) and that Penélope Cruz starred in both movies in the same role. Still, I was going into it relatively blind and unsure what to really expect and it really surprised me.

I won’t say too much about the plot for Open Your Eyes, as I think it is worth going into it not knowing too much beforehand. It has quite a compelling and intricate story with plenty of twists and turns; it keeps you guessing throughout and I was invested throughout to see where it would go next. It’s a blend of multiple genres, though psychological thriller is probably the safest label for it. There are a lot of interesting ideas at play (again, won’t mention them for the sake of spoilers), and as it progresses, it turns into something more tragic and haunting, even playing out like a nightmare. The third act might throw some people off as it does a lot of explaining, though considering how many twists there are, it kind of needed a big exposition dump. It did mean though that it felt a little stretched out towards the end.

As the protagonist, Eduardo Noriega does a really great job at conveying a wide range of emotions (especially pain), even when wearing prosthetics or a mask. He also manages to convey a degree of sympathy despite his very flawed character. Penélope Cruz is also great and a notable standout, having quite a presence every time she’s on screen.

Alejandro Amenábar’s direction is great. It’s very well shot and stylish, and between the cinematography, editing and score, does well at creating a nightmarish atmosphere, especially later in the movie.

Open Your Eyes is an original, twisty, nightmarish, and greatly directed psychological thriller. I’m now curious to watch Vanilla Sky to see how the two films compare.