A thoughtfully moving story originally told.

Rating: 10/10 (16 September 2004)

I wish other film fans would feel what I feel when I watch "Vanilla Sky". It would be regarded as a classic, and referred to often as a cinematic achievement. I feel this is Cameron Crowe's greatest film, and Tom Cruise's finest performance. "Vanilla Sky" has deep and meaningful messages which stay in the soul long after the movie is over. The soundtrack is Crowe's finest to date. Crowe's direction, his screenplay, Cruise's lead acting, Cameron Diaz's supporting performance, and the photography all deserved Academy Award recognition. The fact that some viewers had trouble following the story leads me to conclude that this type of film is not to the greater public's liking. Nobody wants to concentrate on the details of every movie instead of enjoying the movie as a whole; however, I found the direction and storytelling in "Vanilla Sky" just as hypnotic and beautiful as Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" and David Lynch's "Wild at Heart". It's not hard to follow at all, if you feel your way through it. Viewing the film, I noticed the vanilla sky instantly (along with the sudden change in Sophia's attitude), and I realized there was something hidden...a mystery. I feel it is superior storytelling and direction. The chaotic episodes that occupy the film are David's perceptions of a world he cannot control. He loses his dignity by denying Julianna's feelings, and then he pays for it (with his good looks) when she drives him off a bridge. He suffers in pain, just like the pain he has caused. Later, when he tries to enjoy a second chance with Sophia through a lucid dream, his badly soiled conscience causes a malfunction. The movie ends with David getting a real second chance at life, a chance to take what he has learned from his mistakes, and apply it in a world, without Sophia, where he is constantly reminded that "the sweet is just not as sweet without the sour".