Vanilla Sky (2001)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Cameron Crowe

Writers (WGA):

Alejandro Amenábar (film "Abre Los Ojos") and
Mateo Gil (film "Abre Los Ojos") ...

Release Date:

14 December 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

What is happiness to you?

Plot:

A successful publisher finds his life taking a turn for the surreal after a car accident with a jaded lover.

Plot Keywords:

Dream | Party | Death | Doctor | Car Accident

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

Tom Cruise	...	David Aames
Penélope Cruz	...	Sofia Serrano
Cameron Diaz	...	Julie Gianni
Kurt Russell	...	McCabe
Jason Lee	...	Brian Shelby
Noah Taylor	...	Edmund Ventura
Timothy Spall	...	Thomas Tipp
Tilda Swinton	...	Rebecca Dearborn
Michael Shannon	...	Aaron
Delaina Mitchell	...	David's Assistant
Shalom Harlow	...	Colleen
Oona Hart	...	Lynette
Ivana Milicevic	...	Emma
Johnny Galecki	...	Peter Brown
Jhaemi Willens	...	Jamie Berliner

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and strong language.

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:14 | Netherlands:12 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

108th-96th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In the series of still frames at the end of the film, for one frame you see Billy Crudup as Russell Hammond, from Cameron Crowe's previous film, Almost Famous (2000).

Goofs:

Continuity: During the party, when David and Julie are upstairs in his bedroom kissing, Julie's head is tilted to her left when shot from in front of her, but tilted to her right when she is shot from behind.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sofía: [in Spanish] Open your eyes.
Sofía: [in English] Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Open you...
[David wakes up and pushes the snooze button on his alarm]

Movie Connections:

References La grande illusion (1937)

Soundtrack:

Keep On Pushing

Engaging psychological tale

Recently the BBC in UK held a poll for worst film ever, and while Titanic *won*, this came 4th. I just don't understand how anyone can dislike this movie...

Vanilla Sky is a dark psychological drama about dreams, reality and 'what might have been'.

Tom Cruise is Dave, a yuppie who has it all. He has a 51% stake in his father's company, therefore the majority shareholder, and constantly finds himself in a battle to main his control over the '7 dwarves' who make up the rest of the board. His personal life is a mess, with a shallow relationship with Julie (Cameron Diaz) the closest he gets to love, while his best friend Brian (Jason Lee) who adores Julie sticks by him regardless.

However, on holding a birthday party he's introduced to Sofia (The perfect Penelope Cruz) and falls instantly for her.

This is all very well but the plot is parallel to a side story of Dave wearing a white mask in a cell with Dr McCabe (Kurt Russell) who's accusing him of murder and wants to understand why it happened.

Dave begins on a journey to make sense of his life.

I admit there is a 'Hollywoody' feel to this film, and given it's a remake of a Mexican/Spanish original also featuring Penelope Cruz it's probably disappointing to purists. But only viewing this on its own terms I absolutely love this movie. It keeps you guessing, and the ending is very conclusive.

It may not be to everyone's taste, but I loved it.