Vanilla Sky (2001)

Director:

Cameron Crowe

Writers (WGA):

Alejandro Amenábar (film "Abre Los Ojos") and
Mateo Gil (film "Abre Los Ojos") ...

Release Date:

14 December 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

What is happiness to you?

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Skyscraper | No Opening Credits | Remake Of Spanish Film | Lucid Dreaming | Death

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

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

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and strong language.

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA (original rating) | Australia:M (video rating) | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:14 | Netherlands:12 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

A short scene of Björk's video "Big Time Sensuality" can be seen in the movie in a vision sequence Tom Cruise has.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: At the end of the movie when David is standing in the entrance hall of the LR building you can see the camera team reflecting in the windows on his left.

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]

Movie Connections:

References The Insider (1999)

Soundtrack:

Indra

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.