A Drug You'll Take Again and Again

Rating: 10/10 (19 February 2013)

"Vanilla Sky" is about a drug. It's a familiar drug that every man tries once in his life, whether consciously or not. In the film, that drug is Sofia (Penelope Cruz). She embodies love—that intoxicating drug that gives David (Tom Cruise) a high that permanently shifts his normal. In other words, his mood will never be the same again without it.
David, a guy so perfect that a single gray hair is unacceptable, is seemingly forced towards humility after suffering a disfiguring accident shortly after meeting Sofia. However, it is not humility he achieves, but a curse that transcends any kind of physical deformity. David has to have that drug again, so he desperately seeks out his previous normal state, taking drastic measures to make it a reality.
Both Cruise and Cruz play idealized characters. Cruise plays a meticulously perfect big shot, who is only likable because of his abundance of confidence and charm. Meanwhile, Cruz is the natural kind of perfect, and is as desirable as she is pure (she met his friend at a library!). It is no surprise that they were a pair in real life because their puppy love is authentic and palpable (an emotional stage on par with "A Lot Like Love" and "Like Crazy"). I could not help but smile. And Cameron Diaz is utterly frightening as the irrationally clingy stalker—every man's worst nightmare.
The film just exudes replay value. It is a cerebral ride along the lines of "The Butterfly Effect", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "Source Code", and "The Fountain"—all loose-reality based films where a man obsesses over a woman.
Vanilla Sky is pure ecstasy and an enthralling cinematic escape. It's a drug I want to take again and again.