Worth: $8.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Diane Kruger, Norman Reedus, Lena Dunham, Lou Diamond Phillips
Intro:
Those wanting something that breaks the Eat Pray Love mould will find something amongst the introspection...
Having fled from her abusive boyfriend during a US road trip, Parisian Romy (Diane Kruger) continues her travels across Nevada in this drama about reawakening and restarting your life from director Fabienne Berthaud (Lily Sometimes). At least, that’s the idea behind Sky, what it provides is instead something of a headscratcher.
Films of this type usually have a particular DNA to them: the hero throws off the shackles of oppression – boyfriend, bad job etc. – before embarking on a journey of self-discovery and ultimately shedding the skin of her previous life. With Sky, it’s unclear whether we should be cheering Romy on or encouraging her to fly back to Paris for her own safety.
Wandering aimlessly from town to city, she rarely meets anyone that would inspire self-improvement. Whilst hustling for money in Vegas dressed as a playboy bunny, Romy meets Diego; a redneck park ranger played by Norman Reedus. Diego doesn’t appear to be any better than her previous beau, but he fought in ‘the war’ and coughs up blood, so it’s okay then? Perhaps there’s a deeper message to Sky than a woman is free to choose who is horrible to her, but you’d be hard pushed to find one.
What will be most intriguing to those approaching Sky for the first time will be the gorgeous cinematography, with scenery you’ll want to bathe in, and its eclectic cast that Berthaud has put together. Aside from Reedus and Kruger – who is actually very good throughout – you’ll find Lena Dunham as a cheerleading pregnant mum and Lou Diamond Phillips in a blink and you’ll miss it cameo.
Those wanting something that breaks the Eat Pray Love mould will find something amongst the introspection, but really this feels like a good looking missed opportunity more than anything else. Still, can’t fault the use of a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song in the final credits.
