excellent filmmaking supported by excellent performances. ***1/2 (out of four)

Rating: 8/10 (26 December 2001)

VANILLA SKY / (2001) ***1/2 (out of four)
(WARNING: Depending on what you already know about the film--this article may contain a spoiler. It does not, however, give away the ending.)
By Blake French:
Excluding setting and soundtrack differences, "Vanilla Sky" is very similar to "Open Your Eyes," the 1997 Spanish production it is based on. "Open Your Eyes," Alejandro Amenábar's existential thriller, questioned the realm of reality as it combined the filmmaking styles of Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch. "Vanilla Sky" blends the thematic depths of the same directors, but the styles of the two movies feel worlds apart. Director Cameron Crowe adds his own ingredients to this complex recipe; his version is more of an update to the original film than a remake.
With heartwarming movies like "Almost Famous" and "Jerry Maguire," we never would have expected a film like "Vanilla Sky" from Cameron Crowe. But he expands himself far beyond our expectations with this complex, enigmatic, wonderfully frustrating tale. It's a side of Crowe we have never seen before, and it is a pleasant change of pace.
The film opens with one of the most impressive sequences filmed all year. David Aames (Tom Cruise), sprints down a barren Times Square, frantically searching for any sign of life-but there is none to be found. No digital effects were used to create this shot. The city actually gave "Vanilla Sky" permission to shut down Times Square one Sunday so that the shot could be completed. It has an eerie, frantic sensation that digital alterations would not have accomplished.
David wakes to his luxurious life of wealth and position. He inherited a massive corporation from his father and has been enjoys his power and endless supply of beautiful women ever since. However, his latest bed-buddy, Julie (Cameron Diaz), gets a little too close for his comfort. When she invades his birthday party, David uses his best friend's gorgeous romantic interest, Sofia (Penélope Cruz), as a means to rid himself of her.
The following morning, David finds Julie waiting in her car outside his apartment. She admits to following him, but somehow manages to coax him into her vehicle. In a jealous rage, she admits to loving him, accuses David of using her for casual sex, and drives the speeding car off a bridge, killing Julie and deforming David. But is Julie really dead? Is Sofia even a real person, or is she just a figment of David's imagination? David tries to sort it all out in a prison where he has been charged with a murder he does not remember committing.
Cameron Crowe fails to breathe life into a few areas of need, where the original film also lacked. For instance, despite engaging performances, we are never convinced that David and Sofia really love each other. The movie lacks passion. We never feel steam or heat from the screen, not even during an especially absent love scene between Cruz and Cruise. The attitude here is much too external; it questions reality, but never emotion.
Also, the movie never shows us the emotion behind David's plastic mask, which he wears to shield his disfigured face. There is a striking scene in a dance club where David wears the mask on the back of his head, making it appear as if he has two faces. A fine metaphor to examine David's vanity, but "Vanilla Sky" does not provide the proper foundation.
Luckily, this isn't a movie about passion or emotion, it's about conviction and ideas. It's excellent filmmaking the whole way through, supported by excellent performances. Despite his status, Tom Cruise allows himself to look hideously deformed after the car crash. His powerful character transformation is even more effective. He swings back and forth between bitter depression and tormented rage. The psychological inconsistencies are the centerpiece of the movie.
And Crowe does expand on other areas where "Open Your Eyes" failed. "Vanilla Sky" creates a style twice as engaging as the original. Crowe dazzles us with brilliant editing and a lively, pop-culture soundtrack that gives the movie a modern edge. Even so, the twist at the end of this movie feels even less appropriate than in the original, perhaps because the film feels so modern.
"Vanilla Sky" is not like "Mulholland Drive," where no answers are given and there is much room for individual interpretation. This movie does provide an explanation-but it's without foundation or reason. We initially question the answers provided because we expect something more revealing, taut, perplexing. No need to look any deeper than face value. This movie explains every last detail in the finale, and the more it insists on explaining, the less interesting it is.
Despite a disappointing conclusion and a lack of emotional exploration, "Vanilla Sky" ranks as one of the best remakes of the year. The movie does exactly what remakes are supposed to do. It pays dues to the original while expanding on the concepts and themes. "Vanilla Sky" is not better than "Open Your Eyes," but at least it's on the same par.