Vanilla Sky

Plot synopsis:
David Aames (Tom Cruise) drives to work, he finds the streets of New York strangely deserted at rush hour. With growing unease he drives to Times Square and finds the entire city abandoned. He then awakens in his bedroom once again to realize he's only been having a vivid dream.Cut to: David in a jail cell describing a dream to Dr. Curtis McCabe (Kurt Russell), a psychologist who has been assigned to him. David has been charged with a murder he cannot remember, and he wears a mysterious pale mask. He and Dr. McCabe discuss the events that led to his eventual incarceration. Following the death of David's father, he was given 51% ownership of his father's publishing company. The rest of the company is owned by a board of directors that David disparagingly calls the "Seven Dwarfs." Each of them believed that he was next in line to take over the company after David's father died. David can have anything his heart desires, and nothing is beyond him.On the night of his birthday party which also includes a conversation with a drunken Thomas Tipp (Timothy Spall), the company attorney and an old friend of David's father, David considered firing Thomas for what he believes is his incompetence as an attorney, but he has a change of heart when Thomas makes a sad confession.David's best friend, Brian Shelby (Jason Lee), brings with him a girl named Sofia Serrano (Penelope Cruz) whom he just met at the library. Almost instantly, David and Sofia flirt with each other, almost completely ignoring Brian. However, Julianna Gianni (Cameron Diaz), a regular bed partner for whom David has no deep feelings, crashes his party. She stays distant but keeps a close eye on him the entire night. Once David realizes Julianna is there, he asks Sofia to pretend to engage in a deep conversation with him so that Julianna won't come near him. David and Sofia end up hitting it off. David walks Sofia back to her place, where they stay up all night talking.The next morning as David is getting ready to drive to work, Julianna drives up beside him asking how his night with Sofia was. Julianna makes David feel guilty about ignoring her and convinces him to get into her car. It quickly becomes apparent that she is obsessed with David. She starts driving recklessly, speeding through busy city streets, all the while insisting that she's deeply in love with him and berating him for treating her so casually. Fearing for their safety, he tries to get her to stop the car by telling her that he loves her. She drives the car off a bridge in an attempt to kill them both.Julianna did not survive the crash. David did, however, although his face and right arm are mangled, and he suffers blinding headaches due to the metal pieces holding his skull together. He spends a long time in isolation before deciding to take back control of his company and see Sofia again. She appears hesitant to be around him, and when they go on a date she brings Brian along. The date is a disaster as David drinks too much and makes Sofia increasingly uneasy around him. The three part ways at the end of the night, and David ends up passing out on a sidewalk. It is morning when Sofia wakes him up at that same exact spot and tells him that she will stay with him if he can get his act together. From that moment on, David's life is turned around. His team of plastic surgeons is able to restore his face and he finds his soul mate in Sofia.David's new-found happiness is short-lived, however, when he begins hallucinating. He looks in the mirror to see his face once again disfigured. A mysterious man (Noah Taylor) turns up wherever he goes and tells David that he has the power to control the world. And one night he goes to bed with Sofia and wakes up to find himself with Julianna, who insists she really is Sofia. He grows violent, convinced that Julianna is alive and playing games with him. He is arrested and told by Tipp that he severely beat Sofia, but Tipp will have the case thrown out. Tipp shows David photos of Julianna with a bruised face, but everybody, including his best friend Brian, tells him that it was Sofia he attacked.David breaks into Sofia's apartment and finds that every photo he'd seen of Sofia is now of Julianna. Julianna attacks him thinking he's an intruder but then apologizes while still insisting she is Sofia. She leaves the room and the actual Sofia returns in her place as if nothing unusual had happened. They begin to make love but while they are in the middle of the act he finds that he is making love to Julianna. In a fit of panic he suffocates her and then discovers he has just killed Sofia.When David is finished telling Dr. McCabe his story he still can't bring himself to believe that he killed anybody. Dr. McCabe, frustrated by David's failure to tell him anything meaningful that might help his case, tells him that he can no longer help David and will try to argue for "temporary derangement". This odd turn of legalistic phrase is just one of many clues that in this version of David's world all is not what it seems. As Dr. McCabe leaves, David sees an infomercial for a cryonics company called "Life Extension." This infomercial involving a dog that has been frozen and brought back to life has appeared at several points throughout the film. David is entranced by the commercial, and McCabe sees that there may be a connection between Life Extension and David's amnesia.Escorted by Dr. McCabe and the police, David visits Life Extension and realizes that he had signed on as a client. He had opted for an extra feature called the Lucid Dream. This allows cryogenically-frozen, clinically dead clients to experience an unending custom-made dream life with no memory of their physical death.David realizes that he is now living in the Lucid Dream and that the mysterious man is his "Technical Support." The Support Technician explains that the Lucid Dream was "spliced" into his memories at the point where he passed out on the sidewalk after his night out with Sofia and Brian. But the dream went awry and turned into a nightmare. Since nothing he experienced after the splice was real David realizes that he never murdered anybody. Dr. McCabe tells him that the guilt he felt for the way he treated Julianna may have caused his subconscious to merge Julianna and Sofia. But it turns out that Dr. McCabe isn't real either; he's just a character David created in his dream to be the father figure he always wanted. Most curious is the fact that Dr. McCabe seems to believe that he himself is real and only reluctantly comes to accept the truth (he had previously mentioned that he was going out with his two daughters for dinner after a session with David, but when The Support Technician asks him "What are their [your daughters'] names, Dr. McCabe has no response). Tech Support tells David that in reality, he never saw Sofia again, and that Thomas Tipp, the attorney that David considered firing in the beginning, had saved the company for David and helped him regain control from the board of directors. But David, suffering constant pain and depression following his disfigurement, committed suicide.In the end, technical support reveals an upgrade to the software which allows David to either be reinserted into the lucid dream with no memory of the nightmare portion or to be awakened in the present time (which is 150 years after he was frozen) and live in the real world with a restored body. David chooses to be awakened in this future present realizing that everyone he ever knew will be long dead and his wealth will be worth far less. After one last lucid-dream rooftop exchange with Sofia in which she vows to "find you again" he leaps off the skyscraper. Multiple memory-images cascade frenetically through his mind as he falls. The final shot is of a brief whiteout (rather than the blackout) accompanied by the sound of a woman's voice telling him to "open your eyes" and an extreme closeup of a single human eye opening and staring into the camera.

Tags: comedy, psychological, boring, murder, depressing, stupid, fantasy, dramatic, cult, suicidal, mystery, flashback, psychedelic, romantic

Review:
I just don't understand how anyone can dislike this movie...Vanilla Sky is a dark psychological drama about dreams, reality and 'what might have been'.Tom Cruise is Dave, a yuppie who has it all.
His personal life is a mess, with a shallow relationship with Julie (Cameron Diaz) the closest he gets to love, while his best friend Brian (Jason Lee) who adores Julie sticks by him regardless.However, on holding a birthday party he's introduced to Sofia (The perfect Penelope Cruz) and falls instantly for her.This is all very well but the plot is parallel to a side story of Dave wearing a white mask in a cell with Dr McCabe (Kurt Russell) who's accusing him of murder and wants to understand why it happened.Dave begins on a journey to make sense of his life.I admit there is a 'Hollywoody' feel to this film, and given it's a remake of a Mexican/Spanish original also featuring Penelope Cruz it's probably disappointing to purists.
Crowe's other musical selections, such as The Beach Boys, Josh Rouse, Spiritualized, Sigur Ros, the Monkees, etcetera etcetera, are also perfect fits for the film (Crowe has an ear for great music).More importantly, the emotional themes in this film (i.e. love, sadness, regret) are very powerful, and are amplified tenfold by the visual and musical experience, as well as the ingenious dialogue; I admit, the elevator scene brings tears to my eyes time and time again.The best part of this film however (as if it could get any better) is that it is so intelligently crafted such that each time you see the film, you will catch something new--so watch closely, and be prepared to think!
It's a concept visited by filmmaker Cameron Crowe in his highly imaginative and consciousness-altering film, `Vanilla Sky,' starring Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz.
And he is about to learn that sometimes, there is simply no going back.Director Cameron Crowe has crafted and delivered much more than just another film with this one; far more than a movie, `Vanilla Sky' is a vision realized.
Simply put, this one's a real trip; it's exciting-- and it's a mind bender.As to the performances here, those who can't get past the mind-set of Tom Cruise as Maverick in `Top Gun,' or his Ethan Hunt in `Mission Impossible,' or those who perceive him only as a `movie star' rather than an actor, are going to have to think again in light of his work here.
Cruise is not just good in this movie, he is remarkable.Penelope Cruz turns in an outstanding, if not exceptional performance, as well, as Sofia, the woman of David's dreams.
The movie is all about a pop culture addict not aware of the consequences he is going to face after hurting his girlfriend.As he says in the movie its always the small things that changes your life in a big way.The movie gives a clear picture about how dream works and our subconscious mind.David has an inferior feeling about his looks that literally drives Sophia away.
The ending could have been much better as it gives only a glimpse of what actually happened.It took the movie to where it started leaving many questions unanswered.Anyway it is worth a watch.....
I was originally very curious about this film when it first came out because I loved the original, Abre Los Ojos was enthralling melodic and enchanting, and Vanilla sky tried very hard but it just kept missing the mark.Even when you compare the amazing Penelope Cruz's two performances there was so much more in the first film.
Then we come to Tom Cruise who can ofttimes be so hit and miss with his acting (yes I know this will earn me scorn, but its true), there are films he's done where he is brilliant, The Last Samurai, Born on the 4th of July.
Abre Los Ojos was a great film, with solid performances, haunting atmospherics and a unexpected, original ending.
Vanilla Sky is the remake, a film that tries to copy Abre Los Ojos and fails rather miserably.In fact, you can say it very simple : if you have only watched Vanilla Sky, than you're in for a movie that reaches some nice intellectual heights for an American movie with an original ending.
There are a lot of things which make the original better, but now I'm going to give the 3 main points why this movie is way underneath the original :1)the performances : how hard Cruise tries, he never puts as much tragedy and quality in his role as Eduardo Noriega.
But this goes for every actor here (also Cruz, who had a more sharp, vivid character in the original)2)the approach : the original is more scary, leaves more to the imagination of the audience and has a better ending (yes, vanilla sky manages to remove some of the intensity of the original ending!!)3)the music!!!
How cool that he would come to this very much dumber version while his exwife went to something more elaborately and cinematic ally selfreferential in 'Moulin Rouge,' (a real thrill that should be seen right after either 'Eyes' or 'Little Voice').And finally we have Cruz, whose reference is to an external movie of a different type: this same film.
The way I saw my life and specially the way I saw love...As soon as I known that the "Vanilla Sky" was a remake of a Spanish movie "Abre los Ojos" I saw at once the Spanish which I also liked and made me understand a little bit more about the story but I made my choice.
The original is also just a tiny bit better but that doesn't mean that "Vanilla Sky" itself is a bad movie on its own.
The story is good and surprising enough for everyone to enjoy even though at times it tries too hard to be confusing.It's a good movie but you're still better of watching the original.
From the point of view of pure cinema, it is quite impossible to make any review of this film: `Vanilla sky' is the carbon copy of the Spanish film `Abre los ojos,' translated practically verbatim, and with the only difference of a higher percentage of in-your-face special effects (including the typical never-ending fall from a building) that, if they don't add anything to the film, they certainly add a lot to the budget of Digital Domain, the company responsible for most of the special effects.
The few ones that consider "Vanilla Sky" a good movie (or even great ¿?) have not seen the "real" movie, Spaniard "Abre los ojos" by Alejandro Amenábar.It's common in the American film industry to see remakes of foreign films, due to the fact that usually, the traditional American film consumer will not watch a subtitled film.
When I first saw the previews for Vanilla Sky, I scared everyone around me with my jumping up and down that "I've seen this movie before!!!"  Indeed, I had seen the original Spanish version on IFC, and was literally forced to watch the whole thing to the end to find out what really becomes of the main character.To say I was rather p***ed someone tried to remake that movie was an understatement.
Sure, Cameron Crowe followed the original Abre Los Ojos exactly (rip-off might be more appropriate) - like the gutter shot, the nightclub, the post-birthday party experience (including the drawing and photos), the post-accident "dream" - but he added way to much meaning to the whole story.
Vanilla Sky's trailer tells us that the movie is full of hot people in a tangled romance and that the movie is fairly fluffy and normal and something you've probably already seen a million times before and that couldn't be further from the truth.It is a haunting, dark, psychological movie that dives into David's subconscious and examines his innermost desires and fears.
I didn't cared much about Tom Cruise's acting prowess but I must say that he seems to impress at every point in the movie...not simply due to an engaging storyline but also due to his self being imparted to the lead character....they merge and then speak and its beautiful.
I didn't exactly understand why there were a lot of negative reviews because I thought vanilla sky was 10 times better than any average Hollywood movies.
Vanilla Sky ends in a way that makes the audience guess or think what the main character chose: A real life or a life of dreams.
I agree with some of the comments that I cannot understand the low overall rating at IMDb. It is definitely one of the best movies I have seen since a long time - both because of the magnificent actors (Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell, just to name a few) and the thrilling story.
However on watching the film, I was captivated by the sparkling relationship between Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz, especially the scene involving their portrait drawings.
The movie starts out as your average romantic-comedy, you meet David Aames (Cruise), a good looking, successful playboy-type executive at a big company, who takes all for granted, his best friend Brian (Lee), who is somewhat his opposite; Julie (Diaz) who is David's "f*ck-buddy" - according to Brian - and, of course David's soon to be love interest, Sofia (Cruz).
It's a concept visited by filmmaker Cameron Crowe in his highly imaginative and consciousness-altering film, `Vanilla Sky,' starring Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz." (Courtesy of "jhclues".
As it somehow offered a better description of 'Vanilla Sky' than anything I could capably come up with, I decided to preface it to my very personal thoughts on a movie which has catapulted itself to be my all-time favourite film.I was overwhelmed with an inexplicable epiphany as I followed the journey of David Aames.
Tom Cruise proved he is not lost, he did a great job just like in Jerry Maguire which is directed by Cameron Crowe as well as Vanilla Sky. Cameron Diaz has never been a favourite actress of mine, sometimes I find her especially annoying but the role as a stalker fits her very well.
It was an unnerving experience for both Tom Cruise and myself and gave a good foretaste of the suspense and mystery to follow.I have watched the film three times so far, and am still finding new things in it.
Vanilla sky is a one of my favourite films ever created i have watched some many times i can't remember how many.
I haven't seen the original but this a brilliant movie in it's own right it has to be one of tom cruises best performances of his career the movie it's also helped by the excellent direction of Cameron crowe and a brilliant supporting cast including Jason lee who surprisingly good in his role even though he's more known for comedy roles.
The key to our understanding does not show up until the very end, but given this key, the movie is perfectly consistent, and you may not notice the greatness of the film without a second or a third viewing.As to the second claim, this film is superior to the original in every way I would care to compare them, and I can only chock up the opposite opinion to a common, and mostly justified, bias against any Hollywood film, especially one starring Tom Cruise.
Tom Cruise is perfect in his role and as much as you might hate him personally as so many seem to do, he is very good, as is Penelope Cruz.Just some advice to new viewers, have patience and trust that in the end all will be explained.
And had the DVD being blown away every time.Tom Cruise gives a great performance, Penélope Cruz was at her best in this, Cameron Diaz almost shatters her career as becoming the ultimate scorned woman.
But it does get better as it moves along, and by the end of the movie it had actually turned into a decent sci-fi adventure whose ending I was really very interested in.The story, as I suggest, is a bit confusing in the first hour or so and it takes some real commitment to stick with it, but it's helped along by better than average performances from the main leads - Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz and Penelope Cruz.
From there on it's interesting to watch as Cruise tries to sort out fantasy from reality and comes to terms with his ultimate fate and the decision it leaves him with.Overall this is a better than average movie; a bit long perhaps, but worth the time to watch.6/10.
Tom Cruise has done his career no harm over the last 3 years with the choice of films he has decided to do and Vanilla Sky is no exception although it's by no means his best.
One can't really comment on the intricacies of the plot without giving the whole thing away, so I'll simply say that it was better the first time, in Alejandro Amenabar's 'Abre Los Ojos', the original version of the story from which Cameron Crowe adapted 'Vanilla Sky.' What I can say without spoiling is that a film such as this stands or falls on the audience's ability to sympathize with the main character, which is virtually impossible here.
But 'Vanilla Sky' was a misstep, both for Cruise and for director Cameron Crowe, who, despite his skill, is incapable of making the audience care what happens to a jerk like David Aames.The most frustrating aspect of 'Vanilla Sky' is that it is a visually arresting film with a superb cast (Lee, best-known for his turn as the cynical, acerbic Banky in 'Chasing Amy,' is excellent as always, as are Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, Noah Taylor, Kurt Russell, Tilda Swinton, and Timothy Spall).
Yeah, wasn't expecting that but it worked.Strong performances all around and a lot of whoa, that's cool moments following Tom Cruise as a self indulgent publishing magnate whose life of privilege is changed forever following a car accident.The mask was an interesting prop and I liked the scene where David wears it backwards in the nightclub, freaky.
A convoluted, disinterested absurd piece of pablum that's not worth the celluloid on which it was filmed.Vanilla Sky is about a dashing young publisher named David Aames (Tom Cruise) who has two women in his life - his "buddy" Julie (Cameron Diaz) and mysterious new woman Sofia (Penelope Cruz), who just happens to be his best friend's girlfriend.
Vanilla Sky is a 2001 remake of the great 1997 movie, Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes).
Vanilla Sky is a 2001 remake of the great 1997 movie, Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes).
Me, personally I liked this one and I think it has great actors, but I'm tired of Americans always doing remake versions of films...It's a beautiful movie, but it's one of those movies who is too upsetting to watch twice..
I think there is and I think he did realize this eventually :) Vanilla Sky is a great movie and should be watched not only once, but twice or three times or more to be honest.
I actually didn't think Crowe had it in him to produce such a well-executed psychological drama, but "Vanilla Sky" is a very good film.
I'm not sure if this is one of them yet, but Crowe's knack for turning simple scenes into iconic moments in film is staggering and admirable.The acting in "Vanilla Sky" is decent enough, none of it was really a stretch for Cruise, and Jason Lee was his usual laid-back self.
Also, Kurt Russell, a mediocre actor at best, was great as the psychologist; his strength and warmth are so low key that when a significant plot point about him is revealed at the end, you almost have to slap your forehead in an "Oh yeah!" reaction.I really enjoyed seeing "Abre Los Ojos", and I think that it still has advantages other than its originality over "Vanilla Sky".
Eventually took time out for it, and certainly glad about it.Having watched Tom Cruise's quite a few movies, I felt this to be one of his best.
Vanilla Sky gives new meaning to the familiar phrase from a children's song: "Life is but a dream." Tom Cruise brings movie star wattage and appeal and both the ladies Diaz and Cruz are bubby and good.
There is not a single movie that blew my mind more than Vanilla Sky, even after watching it for the second or maybe third time.
Vanilla Sky is also the only film which i have seen twice at the cinema.On another note, i have never thought too highly of Tom Cruise before, and never considered him a good actor.
I no idea what I was leading myself into when I first took a glimpse of Vanilla Sky?I mean sure it was another Tom Cruise flick re-uniting with 'Jerry Maguire' favorite Cameron Crowe and throwing in the likes of Penelope Cruz, Jason Lee, Kurt Russel and the un-avoidable Cameron Diaz but there was something about this film I didn't quite catch.
.?To begin with I heard it was a remake of a Spanish film "Open your Eyes" and secondly the story was not was it was meant to be then I realized that maybe it wasn't such a good idea?The confusing aspect about the story was Tom Cruise's character' a successful millionaire who's claimed everything only one could ever dream of and then meeting the girl of his dreams (real-life love interest Penelope Cruz).The story then begins to take a somewhat "abstract" turning point when past girlfriend Cameron Diaz turns up taking our lead for a ride only to end up committing suicide by driving off a bridge.
The films great cast and script make it well worth watching and in my opinion this is probably Tom Cruise's best performance to date.
Tom Cruise is very good, as are several of the other actors (Russell, Diaz, Cruz), but Cameron Crowe fails to create any sense of excitement.
Vanilla Sky is a 2001 remake of the 1997 movie called Abre Los Ojos.