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No, Josh Hartnett doesn't make the most convincing corporate up-and-comer in the world, but then Matthew, his character in this pensive romantic drama, is supposed to be uncomfortable in his business costume. He's a photographer at heart, a sensitive guy who abandoned that passion when Lisa (Diane Kruger), his enigmatic other true love, abandoned him. Their romance had an oddly abrupt end after Lisa left without a word, so when Matthew thinks he sees her upon returning to Chicago, he starts lying to his fiancée and practically stalking his old flame before becoming entangled in a strange tryst with a lovesick nurse (Rose Byrne). The MGM publicity department busied itself trying to promote this remake ofL'Appartement (1996) as some kind of heavy-breathingFatal Attraction, and director Paul McGuigan certainly fills it with enough slick split-screens and MTV-soundtrack moments to hype it, yet it isn't even remotely a thriller. There are flashbacks upon flashbacks--Vanilla Sky begins to feel linear in comparison--and the screenplay insists on spelling everything out so we'll be sure to get how thoughtful it really is, but it all isn't half bad. Though Hartnett is a little out of his depth, his gentle, beleaguered masculinity works well, and the women are both compelling: Kruger redeems herself after being more wooden than the Trojan Horse inTroy, and Byrne is quite good. Even Matthew Lillard does solid work as Matthew's vulnerable, big-talking buddy. Somewhere in all of it is a surprisingly adult look at the things people do when love seems either too perilously close or too far away to believe in.--Steve Wiecking
Excellent - tricky - twisting - great! I do not want to tell much about the story in order to keep the well twisted and interesting story hidden. If you like non-linear love and/or suspense movies with flash-backs which explain things or if you like movies like Hercule Poirot movies where every single item in the story is important, then this is a movie for you. After I first saw it, I watched it again, to see everything matching up. Very well movie with good actors.
Loses steam Wicker Park seems to lose it's mysterious overtones after a while, and I stopped caring about any of the characters. There's no real mystery in the whole movie. Hartnet seems out of place as an executive, and Lilard is his normal self. His acting making his characters seems immature.Great couples film Just got done watching this movie and I've got to say I thought it was an excellent film. Now this isn't "film noir" or "story development" professional criticism here--I'm speaking strictly from the perspective of a guy who likes relationship films (case in point, Vanilla Sky is my favorite film). Wicker Park was in theaters for all of 2 weeks and the preview just wasn't strong enough for me to care that much (seemed too nutty). But in all sincerity the movie's really emotionally wrenching, in a good way. It builds slowly, switching between the past and present to develop the movie's plot. And the acting plays out extremely well also, w/ impressive performances from the entire cast. I give it 4 stars because I don't want to build anyone's expectations prior to watching it. But my own true personal rating is five stars.
