Watch Abre Los Ojos instead

Rating: 8/10 (28 November 2005)

Warning: may contain spoilers.
"Vanilla Sky is a tough film to rate. Too interesting to be called bad, too pretentious to be called good," says Gary Paton from the online Movie Gazette in his review. Certainly, it was a stunning movie-at least with the first viewing. Viewers are dazzled and confused with special effects, sketchy dialogue, and a summary that fell far short of the demands of the story. Vanilla Sky was meant to function as a work of art, questioning the boundaries of dreams and reality, the wants and desires of our subconscious; but seemed to come second to its Hollywood duty: sensationalize.
David Aames, played by Tom Cruise, begins as a narcissistic playboy and suddenly his life is scattered in the matter of a few hours. He meets Sofia Serrano, realizes there is more to love than one-night stands, and nearly killed when his jealous friend, Julie, drives off a bridge. The story begs to follow the path of redemption of David, but suddenly careens into a science fiction thriller. The viewer is not given the chance nor time to understand the course of events: the sudden appearance (and re-disappearance) of dead Julie, the reversion to his disfigured face, and many other apparently inexplicable, incongruent events. The conclusion was lofty and dramatic, simply resolving David's character and leaving several gaping plot holes open for the viewer to fall into.
Although Abre Los Ojos, the original Spanish film, had less character development it felt more natural and more meaningful than Vanilla Sky. It is a film to enjoy only when one has plenty of time to absorb the deeper meanings beyond the time spent watching the film itself.