Vanilla Sky is the sort of film that drives
reviewers crazy. It keeps us up at night and make us pull out
our hair in frustration. The reason is simple: This is a film
so filled with surprises and twists that it's difficult to talk
about without ruining the experience for those who haven't seen
it.
One interesting aspect of Vanilla Sky is its
black and white nature. What I mean by that is that most films
tend to have a fairly broad range when it comes to liking or
disliking it. Not so here, where it seems that people either
love it or hate it. There isn't much middle ground.
The film is a remake of Abre Los Ojos (Open
Your Eyes), written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar. Cameron
Crowe, borrowing a term from the music industry, calls Vanilla
Sky his "cover version" of the previous film. As an
interesting bit of trivia, Penelope Cruz actually plays the
same character in both films.
Tom Cruise stars as David Aames. Because this
is Cruise in the role, we can automatically assume a few things
about the character. For instance, it's safe to say that David
is the sort of guy that women all want to be with and men just
all want to be. He's 33 and fabulously wealthy, having inherited
the controlling share of the publishing company built by his
father (it puts out TV Digest and Rise Magazine -- think TV
Guide and Maxim and you've got the idea). Cruise uses our perceptions
of him to help create the character of David. He breezes through
life, relying on his impish smile to get him out of trouble
as he shows up late for work, or flirts with all of his female
employees or bounds into the company board room in a rumpled
shirt and little clue about the company's business.
David's best friend is Brian Shelby (Jason
Lee), an aspiring writer who lives vicariously through David's
exploits. David's other friend is Julie Gianni (Cameron Diaz),
only they are a little more than just friends. We first meet
Julie as she's waking up in David's bed. To David it's casual
sex. To Julie there's nothing casual about it.
David then meets Sofia Serrano (Penelope Cruz)
and the two immediately hit it off. They spend the night in
her apartment, not sleeping together, but instead falling in
love. The next morning, while leaving the apartment, David discovers
that Julie has followed him. Against his better judgment, he
gets in the car with Julie and it turns out to be the worst
mistake of his life. Julie confesses her love for him and then
in a fit of jealous rage she drives her car off of a bridge,
killing herself and horribly disfiguring David.
From here it gets difficult to discuss the
film without giving away anything. One thing that still remains
on safe ground is the fact that David eventually winds up in
prison, charged with murder, and discussing his case with a
psychiatrist (Kurt Russell). The structure of the film is essentially
David's explanation of events leading up to the murder -- that
may or may not have happened.
At a time when most films are painfully predictable,
Vanilla Sky is a breath of fresh air. Though there are plenty
of clues planted throughout the film, some appear to be misdirections
or lead to only partial answers. Just when you think you know
what's going on, the film pushes it to a new level and every
answer supplied might not be the truth. Even the film's final
revelations are suspect, once you consider the source, throwing
doubt upon elements of David's entire life.
The film is paced well and structured to keep
the viewers as uneasy as the main character. All of the actors
involved turn in excellent performances, especially Tom Cruise,
who gives what may be the best performance of his career. The
direction, cinematography and art direction are all solid and
fit the material perfectly.
For me, Vanilla Sky was one of the best films
of the year. I appreciated the bold storytelling and its openness
to multiple interpretations. This sort of mind-twisting film
making is exactly what appeals to me.
