The hair of many faces - Or: Tom Cruise only Exists in Mission Impossible movies - a long-ass essay
How do you solve a quandary like Tom Cruise? I’m serious. To be honest – I actually have little to no thoughts about the guy as a celebrity outside of the usual comment about jumping on couches, and Scientology stuff, and even that is minimal and forgettable. This man is an actor who has lived within the very core of my cinematic foundation. When I was little, I interchanged him with Brad Pitt because at the time, they were the two biggest male actors in the goddamn universe. And then they did Interview with a Vampire together and looking back; what I vaguely remember is Kirsten Dunst, and not much else. (Oh, and the lighting, many candles, plenty shadow – much early 90s goth romance, too much mascara? I think Antonio Banderas is there for a second – I cant be bothered to find out). Like, he is a mega star. So big that he’s a black hole in my cinematic psyche. I keep having this thought in the back of my brain that I don’t actually realise how much of a...