Vanilla Sky (2001)

A successful publisher finds his life taking a turn for the surreal after a car accident with a jaded lover.

Director:

Cameron Crowe

Writers:

Alejandro Amenábar (film "Abre Los Ojos"), Mateo Gil (film "Abre Los Ojos"),

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Cruise	...	David Aames
Penélope Cruz	...	Sofia Serrano
Cameron Diaz	...	Julie Gianni
Kurt Russell	...	McCabe
Jason Lee	...	Brian Shelby
Noah Taylor	...	Edmund Ventura
Timothy Spall	...	Thomas Tipp
Tilda Swinton	...	Rebecca Dearborn
Michael Shannon	...	Aaron
Delaina Mitchell	...	David's Assistant
Shalom Harlow	...	Colleen
Oona Hart	...	Lynette
Ivana Milicevic	...	Emma
Johnny Galecki	...	Peter Brown
Jhaemi Willens	...	Jamie Berliner

Storyline

Incarcerated and charged with murder, David Aames Jr. is telling the story of how he got to where he is to McCabe, the police psychologist. That story includes: being the 51% shareholder of a major publishing firm, which he inherited from his long deceased parents; the firm's board, appointed by David Aames Sr., being the 49% shareholders who would probably like to see him gone as they see him as being too irresponsible and immature to run the company; his best bro friendship with author, Brian Shelby; his "friends with benefits" relationship with Julie Gianni, who saw their relationship in a slightly different light; his budding romance with Sofia Serrano, who Brian brought to David's party as his own date and who Brian saw as his own possible life mate; and being in an accident which disfigured his face and killed the person who caused the accident. But as the story proceeds, David isn't sure what is real and what is a dream/nightmare as many facets of the story are incompatible to ...

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Plot Keywords:

party | dream | psychologist | publisher | love | 

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Taglines:

Looks Can Be Deceiving!

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Genres:

Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Pathé / Wanadoo (Cable/ASDL, Modem) (French)

Country:

USA Spain

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

14 December 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nebo boje vanile

Filming Locations:

108th-96th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$68,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$916,040 (Spain) (1 February 2002)

Gross:

$100,614,858 (USA) (26 April 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Cruise/Wagner Productions, Vinyl Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Penélope Cruz also starred in Open Your Eyes, of which this film is a remake.

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Goofs

When Julie comes back, her strap is off and then on again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sofía: [in Spanish] Open your eyes.
Sofía: [in English] Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Open you...
[David wakes up and pushes the snooze button on his alarm]

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits for the film.

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Connections

References Beauty and the Beast (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Everything In Its Right Place"
(2000)
by Thom Yorke (as Thomas Yorke), Ed O'Brien (as Edward O'Brien), Colin Greenwood,
Jonny Greenwood (as Jonathan Greenwood) and Phil Selway (as Philip Selway)
Performed by Radiohead
Courtesy of Capitol Records
under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets

User Reviews

Vanilla Sky is dream come true.

I could not agree more with the quote "this is one of the best films ever made." If you think Vanilla Sky is simply a "re-make," you could not be more wrong. There is tremendous depth in this film: visually, musically, and emotionally.

Visually, because the film is soft and delicate at times (early scenes with Sofia) and at other times powerful and intense (Times Square, post-climactic scenes).

The music and sounds tie into this movie so perfectly. Without the music, the story is only half told. Nancy Wilson created an emotional, yet eclectic, score for the film which could not be more suitable for such a dream-like theme (although never released, I was able to get my hands on the original score for about $60. If you look hard, you may be able to find a copy yourself). 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! Sure, a theme becomes obvious after the first or second watch, but there is always more to the story than you think.

This is easily Cameron Crowe's best work, and altogether a work of brilliance. Much of my film-making and musical inspiration comes from this work alone. It has honestly touched my life, as true art has a tendency of doing. It continually surprises me that there are many people that cannot appreciate this film for what it is (I guess to understand true art is an art itself).

Bottom line: Vanilla Sky is in a league of its own.