"Head in the Clouds", set in Paris (circa 1920's-1940's), is all about a trio of three characters; two women and one man. The centerpiece of the trio and the film is Theron as an independent, capricious, liberal and free spirited women who is in love with both her male and female part-time companions (Townsend & Cruz) who, in turn, both love her. The film follows the ebb and flow of the trio's relationships from their good times before the Spanish civil war through their bad times during WWII. An attempt at a sort of romantic epic, "Head in the Clouds" is wrought with staginess, corny dialogue, charming artificiality, and glorified melodrama. Not well received by the critics, this obvious film seems to be trying too hard while never quite ringing true. Should be an okay watch for romantics and sentimentalists. (B-)

This movie had potential - a modern twist on a romantic ww2 melodrama. If only some one had given the writer a few pointers on how to write a good old yarn.

The leads are attractive - Penelope and Charlize have never looked so beautiful. They really look good in their 20s/30s costumes and hairdos. Stuart Townsend is competent and everyone's favorite Nazi Thomas Kretschmann is here.

It is quite explicit in part but not too vulgar.

Some of the sets are deliberately theatrical and sound stage looking. But if is quite attractively filmed on the whole.

The ending is the real let down. Since it was a romantic melodrama would it have been so bad to have a nice happy ending? In the end you feel you wasted your time.

It's 1933 Cambridge University, England. One rainy night, wild dilettante Gilda Bessé (Charlize Theron) sneaks into sincere student Guy Malyon (Stuart Townsend)'s room. She stays and they start dating. As a girl, she visited a fortune teller who could only see her 34th year. After her mother's death, she leaves England to travel the world. Guy finally catches up to her in Paris. His girlfriend surrenders and leaves. Gilda is living with mysterious beauty Mia (Penélope Cruz). They form a threesome. Idealistic Guy and Spanish Mia go to fight the fascists in Spain despite Gilda's objection. Mia is killed and Guy returns to Paris to an unforgiving Gilda. During WWII, Guy becomes a British spy while Gilda becomes the mistress to a Nazi officer.

Charlize Theron is magnetic. Stuart Townsend is not innocent enough to be Guy. To me, he needs to play up his character's sincere idealism. I imagine a nerd with glasses with his face in a book. Stuart always has a twinkle and the angry pout of a male model. I guess it was impossible to split the real-life couple apart at that time. Penélope Cruz could play with more heat. Her English may not be good enough at the time but she could let them have it with her Spanish heat. She absolutely has it in reserve but she rarely uses it in this movie. As for the story itself, it wants to be a sprawling romantic war epic. It's long enough but it could never be grand enough. It takes on this vast pulpy romance-novel-style writing but only Theron truly comes out on top. She is always bigger than the movie.