Cameron Crowe's tantalizing film sticks with you.

Rating: 9/10 (17 January 2002)

VANILLA SKY (2001) Rating: 9/10
Before seeing this movie you need to bring your imagination, intellect and your sense of wonder to this film, along with a friend if someone's handy. You will need all four - the latter is critical to talk through your impressions and the film's possibilities over a nice cafe mocha after the show.
It's not another date movie of the kind Hollywood routinely churns out. There's a lot to like about this movie. It demands to be watched "Closely!" Open your eyes... (where'd I here that?) Now there's nothing wrong with fun fare of, say Charlie's Angels and Shrek. To all flicks, a purpose. Those are frolicks. This one is more comparable to a philosophical lecture, where the professor insists you learn by immersing yourself in the experience. Each has entertainment value. This one simply demands your full attention to "get it".
The movie is very different from what the commercials make it out to be. It turns out to be more of a fantasy film actually. And it is a "thinking" film that made me want to talk about afterwards, which is always cool with me. There are also lots of humor and witty dialogue throughout the movie, much more than you would expect from seeing the trailers. Jason Lee seemed to get the bulk of the funny bits (as always), but Tom Cruise gets in his share of memorable zingers, too.
Having said that, I think a lot of what makes this a success in my book are the five great performances by the leads. Tom Cruise is at his charismatic best, and Penelope Cruz is more lovable than in any other movie I've seen her in. The two of them have palpable chemistry, I have no trouble believing that the sparks continued long after Cameron Crowe yelled "Cut!" Jason Lee is, not surprisingly, perfectly cast, having mastered the art of playing the smart-ass best friend in Kevin Smith's flicks. The real surprise is Cameron Diaz. I've adored her ever since she first entered that bank in 1994s The Mask. She then proved surprisingly game in There's Something About Mary, and she revealed an edgier side of her acting in Being John Malkovich, but this (for lack of a better term) psycho bitch turn is still quite shocking! I'll never see her as a harmless blonde sweetie ever again! Cruise also does some of his most interesting acting when events spin out of control, showing a much darker side of himself. As in Eyes Wide Shut and Magnolia, I think the fact that we're used to seeing him as such a successful stud makes his breakdown even more affecting.
Behind the camera, Cameron Crowe is as "on" as he's never been. With the help of cinematographer John Toll and his wife Nancy Wilson doing the score, he crafts a constantly stimulating succession of sounds and visuals, sometimes to rivetingly surreal effect. Plenty of scenes are still haunting me, from the Times Square opening to the breathtaking finale, through countless other great moments. And what about the soundtrack! A former Rolling Stone writer, Crowe always puts together bitching soundtracks for his movies. Think of the use of "In Your Eyes" in Say Anything, of "Free falling" in Jerry Maguire, the Seattle grunge in Singles, or the Led Zeppelin tunes in Almost Famous. Now in Vanilla Sky, we can hear such great artists as Radiohead, REM, the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and Peter Gabriel, all used to near perfection. I mean, some will disagree, but I found the "Good Vibrations" music cue just priceless, I had "Solsbury Hill" caught in my head for the whole day and even Joan Osborne's "One of us" took on creepy undertones!
Vanilla Sky explores some very intriguing territory, which will confuse the hell out of a lot of people, but give it time, there is a point and some sense to make off it all in the end. Some might argue that it's better to leave things unexplained than to tie everything up, but in this particular case, I thought the exposition served its purpose, and as delivered by Noah Taylor ("Tech support!") and Tilda Swinton, it doesn't feel tedious. And then, the movie reaches a payoff. To reverse one of the film's leitmotiv, since you got more into the sweet early scenes, the sour elements hit even harder, and when you don't expect it no more, "sweetness follows" and you leave the theater still on a high, wondering what it is that would make you most happy.