Head in the Clouds

A handsome misfire of romanticized misfortune, war, idealism, tragedy, and melodrama, Head in the Clouds aspires to be a sweetly risqué twist on the spirit of Casablanca. But miscast leads and ersatz emotions leave the film's soundstage-ish period ambiance as its most comparable asset. Underwhelming, accent-wavering Stuart Townsend (Queen of the Damned) stars as an aspiring young writer and political idealist who comes under the spell of Gilda (Charlize Theron), a reckless woman who lives for the hedonistic moment. Passionate but uncommitted lovers in Paris just before World War II, the pair's affair ventures into stormy and political seas after becoming a threesome with Mia (Penelope Cruz), a sexy, crippled ex-dancer who studies nursing so she can return to Spain and aid the revolution. While thick with potential that might have been realized with better dialogue, a more appropriately intellectual cast (someone more talented than Townsend, someone more enigmatic than Theron), or perhaps just a better director of sex and sociopolitical consequence (I would love to have seen Bernardo Bertolucci take a whack at this), writer-director John Duigan's film ultimately comes across as a tale of sultry paper dolls buffeted by the winds of war. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras include a nine-minute "making-of" featurette, and trailers. Bottom line: a disappointing extras package for a disappointing film.] (R. Blackwelder)