Vanilla Sky (2001)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell, Jason Lee, Tilda Swinton, Michael Shannon, and Timothy Spall, with small roles from Johnny Galecki, Conan O’Brien, Steven Spielberg, and Tommy Lee
Grade: A

In Vanilla Sky, Tom Cruise learns the ages-old lesson of “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, also known by its modern equivalent, “Bitches be crazy”.

Summary

“Open your eyes”.

An alarm clock with a woman’s voice opens the film.

In New York City, wealthy playboy David Aames Jr. (Cruise) wakes up and gets ready for work. He plucks a white hair in the mirror in disgust. Next, he drives to work. Strangely enough, there isn’t a single car on the road nor a citizen in sight. He gets out of his car around Times Square and starts running before stopping and screaming at the heavens. Suddenly, he wakes up in bed, as it was all a dream. His alarm clock with a woman’s voice says, “Open your eyes”, but it’s noticeably a different voice. As David gets ready to start the day and plucks a real white hair from his head, we hear a conversation David has with Dr. Curtis McCabe (Russell) overlayed with it discussing his dream. McCabe suggests the dream is about loneliness, but David isn’t impressed with this answer. Even so, McCabe questions why David has been charged with this unknown crime. David talks about how he was about to turn 33, he ran three magazines, and a publishing house. He believed it would last forever. In real time, David puts on his clothes, and his fuck buddy Julie Gianni (Diaz) wakes up and wonders where he’s going. He changes the subject to tell her not to record messages on his alarm clock. She asks why, and he jokes that he will start to think they are married or something. She laughs along. Once he exits the room, Julie’s agent Rayna calls, and Julie tells her she missed her audition, whispering to her how she’s with David. Following this, she makes some food in the kitchen. In a rush, David tells Julie to help herself to whatever she wants, his housekeeper Maria will clean up, to set the alarm before she goes, and he will call her later. On the way to work, David picks up his best friend Brian (Lee) to play racquetball. Brian isn’t too happy playing this early, but David has to be done by 10AM. During the drive, David checks his phone and sees his nine missed calls from Rise Magazine. The receptionist calls and assumes correctly that he’s not going to make the 8:45AM meeting. He tries to joke around it, but she stresses that he has to check the colors of the letters for the new issue. The colors are yellow and red, or the traditional white. David says he will think about it. Before he hangs up, she reminds him to not be late for the 10AM meeting with the board. He says this is fine but to not tell anyone where he’s at.

Brian questions if David can get rid of the board, a group David refers to as the “Seven Dwarves”. Even though they drive him nuts, David is sure that was the desire of his father since he’s the one who hired them.

Looking at him, Brian guesses that David fucked Julie again last night, but he denies it and says he had a cold. Brian doesn’t necessarily believe him but goes on about how he can do whatever he wants with his life but “one day, you’ll know what love truly is. It’s the sour and the sweet”. Brian argues that he knows sour, which allows him to appreciate the sweet. David tells him Julie is a friend, though he admits they sometimes sleep together. This gets a howl out of Brian because Julie is his dream girl. Seconds later, the two almost get into a major car crash after swerving out of the way of a bike rider. As the semi-truck stops just before hitting them, David acknowledges how they almost died. Brian notes that David‘s life flashed before his eyes and that it was almost worth dying for, getting a laugh out of David. Later, David shows up to work wearing legitimately one of the dumbest hats I’ve ever seen. Despite being late for the board meeting and still having to make those decisions on the colors for the art department, and being brought up to speed on everything in a hurry by the receptionist, David strolls in the office without a care in the world. As he walks by one guy’s office who asks him what cover he likes more and he doesn’t answer, the receptionist takes off David’s hat before he enters the board room and tells him that opinions are expected. As David walks into the meeting and the Seven Dwarves stare at him angrily, McCabe discussing things with David sometime after is heard. He asks if he dreams about these Seven Dwarves. In real time at the meeting, David jokes that he wants answers right away, but no one laughs. Still, he smiles and asks how’s it going with everyone. In his meeting with McCabe, he details how the board still sees him as an 11-year-old. In a flashback, two female coworkers talk about how child David will eventually inherit the company. In his meeting with McCabe in a flashforward scene, we finally see their conversation onscreen. David is in prison donning a creepy prosthetic mask, and McCabe is the court psychologist assigned to him. He asks David if he’s scared of his dreams, but David says they are a nightmare either way.

McCabe wonders if that’s how he explained what happened to his face, but David doesn’t want to talk anymore. When McCabe assumes he isn’t going to show him his face, David kicks over a chair yelling “No!”. McCabe reminds him why he’s here: David has been charged with murder. In four weeks, a judge will determine David’s fate based off what McCabe writes. With this, he reiterates how David must talk to him.

David stresses that there was no murder, explaining that it never happened. He gets aggressive as he says it, so a guard (Shannon) approaches and tells David his story is full of holes. McCabe tells the guard to leave, and David will be his responsibility. During his exit, the guard tells David he will get him and calls him a “daddy’s boy little freak”, so David yells that his parents are dead at him. Calming things down, McCabe asks if there’s any truth to the “daddy’s boy” comment, prompting David to give him some backstory on his father. He talks about how his dad wasn’t built for the 21st century, he never went to McDonald’s, and he never watched TV, but his biggest magazine was still the TV Digest. Him and David’s mother threw the grandest parties of the literary world, he ballooned, jumped out of airplanes, and sought adventure. His autobiography Defending the Kingdom is the manual for every cutthroat publisher in New York City. McCabe actually read it and brings up a quote from page 127 commenting, “David Jr. was a delight as a child”. He is wondering if he’s missing something because it’s seemingly all his father wrote about him. David stands on the table and responds that he doesn’t think his father ever got over how David is terrified of heights. Changing the subject, David talks about how his father and mother were run over by a drunken teenager on New Year’s Eve 10 years ago and left him the keys to the kingdom. David got 51% control and 49% would go to 7 board members who all thought they were first in line. McCabe wants to get things straight and wants to confirm David’s theory that these “Seven Dwarves” put him there in prison to take control of his company. David wonders why he cares, but McCabe just passes it off as talking. He goes on about how he will have to leave soon because he goes out for dinner on Wednesdays with his two daughters. He reminds David that their time is limited and heads towards the door. David stops him by stating if he does talk, McCabe will just think he’s crazy. Bringing up his latex mask and conspiracy theories, McCabe comments that David has already crossed that bridge. With this, David just tells him to enjoy his dinner.

Walking back towards the exit, McCabe tells him there are five emotions in life. He wonders what emotion gripped HIM before he entered the cell. Was it guilt? Hate? Shame? Revenge? Love?

Going backwards, we go back to David at his birthday party in his home. As he greets everyone (including Steve Spielberg in a cameo), he spots Brian with the beautiful Sofia Terrano (Cruz). Brian introduces the two and talks about how he just met Sofia at the library that day. She jokes that her coat was too big to be put in David’s closet with the rest of the coats, so he has his assistant put the coat in a separate room entirely. They don’t lose eye contact, smiling throughout the entire exchange and practically ignoring Brian completely. Brian notices and tells David to stop flirting and to open the gift him and Sofia picked out for him. David goes to take the gift into another room. As he does so, Julie spots him. Later on in the party, David runs into one of the board members, the drunken Tommy (Timothy Spall). He’s going back to London and thanks David for putting him up for another attorney’s job so David wouldn’t have to fire him. He says it’s something his father would have done too. As David watches Sofia from the corner of his eye, Tommy admits his own incompetence. Next, he tells David that the Seven Dwarves think David is stupid and they are looking for a way to get him out. They’ve lined up for “your office, your life, your position”. They’re working day and night to cheat him out of his 51% vote. They have even given him the nickname “Citizen Dildo” behind his back. Tommy tells David that he has great instincts and leaves him with advice of claiming his life and learning to be an asshole. He tries to give him another, but David says two is enough. Still, Tommy believes in his family, even if it’s only David left. Afterwards, David tells Peter (Johnny Galecki) to get Tommy home safely, rehire him with a 50% raise, and give him the big office across the hall from the Seven Dwarves. In addition, he wants Peter to set up a meeting with the other attorneys because he’s going to be in early tomorrow, prompting Peter to give him a shocked look. With this, David changes in mind and just says he will be in earlier than usual. David goes to his room where all the gifts are at and sees women’s clothes on the bed. He turns around and a naked Julie is standing by the doorway wrapped in his comforter. David reminds Julie that he didn’t invite her, but she bypasses it, and they kiss, bringing up how they had sex four times the other night.

They continue to kiss, and Julie says she wants him to hold her. Then, she’ll leave, and he can talk to the “cute brunette”, meaning Sofia. Julie criticizes Sofia’s appearance and speaks on how she’s worried about losing him to another girl. She lies on the bed and asks when he’s going to call her. She doesn’t want to hear him say “Soon” though. She hates that. Looking at a smashed guitar from Danny Bramson in a glass case in David’s house as it was gifted to David for his birthday last year, Sofia wonders if this is what has become of rock and roll. She criticizes the gift being on some “rich guy’s wall”, prompting the couple near her to leave. David overhears her comments and walks over to her. She lies and says she likes it while trying to walk away, but he stops her to talk. Sofia asks how he came upon all this stuff, his apartment, and this life in general. He gestures to his father’s face painted on the wall, so she takes the hint and starts walking away again. David follows her, especially after he sees Julie coming down the stairs. He explains how he has a stalker situation. He wants her to pretend they are having a good conversation, and she is entertained by it. He asks Sofia if Julie is staring at him, and she is. David looks over and Julie mouths that she’s just having a drink. Sofia notes how Julie is looking increasingly sadder as she stands there. As Brian talks to other girls at the party, David takes Sofia to another apartment he owns upstairs. He invites her in, but she playfully says she doesn’t want to come in. To test her, he shuts the door in her face and watches her through the peephole. She walks forward a little but changes her mind and knocks on the door, lying and saying that she hears Julie coming. He believes it for a second, but when she says she’s joking, David pulls her in. At the party, Brian starts talking to Julie. They do know each other. Meanwhile, Sofia looks at the art David has on his walls. He tells her one is Joni Mitchell, one is Monet, and the painted snowboard in the room was done by David himself. She jokes that two of them are geniuses while walking towards the Monet painting, The Seine at Argenteuil. It’s the real thing.

Monet’s paintbrush painted the vanilla sky and the canvas. It was his mother’s.

After Brian is done talking to Julie, he goes upstairs and finds David talking with Sofia. David brings up how Julie is stalking him. The drunk Brian comments that no one stalks him, which is why he drinks. After he drops his drink, Sofia exits to get some more for them. Brian is about to leave the party because he didn’t eat, but David wants him to stay, calling him his guest of honor. Brian goes on about how David is paying him to write his novel, so David basically owns him. David assures Brian that he doesn’t own him and tries to encourage him by saying he’s brilliant, good looking, and handsome. Still, Brian wonders why he had to hit on Sofia. David denies doing so, and says Brian has been drinking Jack Daniel’s, which brings out the whole sad “blame game” type of mentality he has. Brian concedes this, though he does think Sofia could be the girl of his dreams. If she fucks up their friendship though, he won’t allow it. David says he feels the same way. Just then, Sofia walks back into the room with their drinks. Brian takes his and goes to leave. Sofia is going to go with him, but he encourages her to stay, with David offering a ride if she would like. She turns it down because she has to work in the morning. Brian insists she’s in good hands with David, gives David another version of the “sweet and sour” speech again, and departs. At the same time, a drunk Julie dances with the waiter at the party. David walks Sofia home, and she talks about how she has to work around the clock as a dancer to keep her apartment. It’s been that way for 14 years. Inside, David looks at her fridge while she gets some drinks and he looks at all her photographs over the years. He grabs one picture of some guy with the name “Sergio” written on it, and she says it’s her nickname but won’t give the reason why. She asks David what his nickname is, so he admits it’s “Citizen Dildo”. Hearing this, she tells him he’s not staying over. They discuss the power he has as an executive, how neither have ever been married, and how she moved to New York to dance, paint, and act. She talks about how everyone told her not to move to New York, but she just thinks good things will happen if you’re a good person with a good attitude. He smiles at her statement, but she takes it as David seeing her as naive.

To McCabe, David talks about how much he liked her. Still, Sofia tells David she has to get to sleep because she also works mornings as a dental assistant, prompting him to say, “Boy, am I going to the wrong dentist”. It gets a smile out of her.

McCabe’s voice is heard questioning that David didn’t immediately want to sleep with her, but David explains this by calling himself a “pleasure delayer”. As the scene moves forward in time to the prison, David explains how the term means to keep the relationship casual until the absolute breaking point. Then, “it” happens out of nowhere. He thinks McCabe has an idea of what he’s talking about, but he assures David he doesn’t because he’s been married for 22 years. After he reminds McCabe about dinner with his daughters, David moves the subject back to him and goes on about the intricate systems he had with women and how McCabe wants to hear more because he’s jealous, reminiscing about the times when he was single. McCabe admits this might be partially true, but he wants to keep going with their conversation because there’s only so much time. David agrees before grabbing onto the bars on the window, prompting the guard to stare at him from the office. Flashing back to when David and Sofia are hanging out, they are drawing each other as caricatures while looking at each other. David finishes first. Sofia finishes second but shows David what she drew first. It’s an exaggerated caricature of David with a giant smile and holding money in one hand while a bunch of women are trying to grab him. He tries to hide his, but she makes him show it. Once he reveals what he drew, it’s a near perfect drawing of her and it’s beautiful. She’s floored. He jokingly offers to sell it to her, so she asks what the price would be. He wants one kiss. She questions what he will say when Brian calls tomorrow, but David argues that Brian met her only a few hours before him and would do the same. He does confirm that his friendship is important to him, but since Brian is writing a novel about inadequacy and rejection, the longer David stays the better it is for Brian’s career. Sofia says David’s career is the one she worries about but can tell this line hit him deep. She apologizes, but it’s fine because he admits she’s more correct than she realizes. Before, he didn’t really have a focus in life. Sofia asks when this changed, and he responds, “About five minutes ago”.

She comments, “Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around”.

Later, the two are lying on the couch watching mogul Raymond Tooley on television being interviewed about his new business idea of life extension and his new book Life: The Sequel. Part of his technology has extended a dog named Benny’s life. David tells her that his company did a story on the guy, as he owns half of Arizona. Following this, David tries to kiss her, but she stops him. He gets up to leave. After he notes that he left his number on her fridge when she asks where he’s going, she invites him over to tell him a secret. Finally, she kisses him. He smiles and says he will use the inspiration he got from her to show compassion when running his company for the people who want him to fail. He’s elated as he leaves and Sofia comments “Pleasure delayer”. He exits and walks happily to his car. At the same time, Sofia privately dances around in her apartment in excitement. Once David opens his car door, Julie pulls up next to him on the street. She’s been following him. She wanted to finish what they were talking about and asks how it went with Sofia. He admits it went great, but Julie can tell he didn’t sleep with her based off his walk. She guesses he hasn’t slept with Sofia because it’s more fun when he can draw it out, adding that sex isn’t as good unless a woman tells all her friends she wouldn’t sleep with him. Starting to become uninterested in the conversation, he just tells Julie that she’s right. Julie continues and talks about how Sofia must be exhausted trying to be witty for him all night long, but David subtly tells her to stop. As he is about to get in his car, Julie adds that he never seems to be there for his friends until they’ve already given up on him. David tells her that he’s not blowing her off. He just wants to be alone for a bit and has a lot of things to take care of. Stressing how they are friends, he says she should understand that. She apologizes for getting weird, but his words do bother her. She tells him she missed an audition and felt bad that he didn’t invite her to the party. If he wants to make it up to her, she says she won’t tell a soul. David relents and goes with her. During the drive, she asks David if he would do a story on her if she made a CD. He confirms, prompting her to give him the CD she’s made. The music they are listening to in the car is playing and it’s hers, with David commenting how “vivid” it is.

Next, Julie asks David what happiness is to him. Before he can answer, she says happiness to her is being with him. Then, she gets serious and wants to know why David told Brian that she is his “fuck buddy”. David immediately denies saying it. She questions when he stopped caring about the consequences of the promises he made. David laughs because he isn’t sure what she’s getting at, but Julie notes how hard it is to be his buddy because she loves him. David stops smiling, and Julie starts saying over and over again how she loves him and starts driving faster. She talks about how they fucked four times the other night and how she swallowed his cum, which means something to her. She goes on about how she lives everyday hoping he will call her to do something and if a person sleeps with someone, their body makes a promise whether they do or not. As she states this, she’s driving more erratically, faster and in-between lanes. She asks David if he believes in God while driving through a red light. Realizing what’s happening, he tries to tell her that he loves her. She smiles but veers towards his bridge, he tries to grab the wheel from her, but they crash off it and into the street and wall below. Following this, David is walking in a park and Sofia approaches him. He brings up his horrific dream of what happened with Julie and how she committed suicide with him in the car, but he survived with his arm and face reconstructed. What’s worse is that he can’t wake up. She kisses him, and they embrace. She asks how his house was after the party, but he looks at her like he doesn’t remember anything from it.

It turns out that this part was a dream, as he explains to McCabe that his dreams taunt him. He tries to imagine flying or something freeing, but it never works. Back in the prison with McCabe, McCabe asks if it’s the only thing David dreams about, but he doesn’t remember. McCabe asks if he dreams about the car accident, but David explains how you remember nothing coming out of a coma. He goes on about how after the accident, he was out for three and a half weeks. His face and his arm were shattered, his jaw was broken in four places, and no surgery could be performed because of the coma. Then, he came back to life like Benny the dog. He goes on about how his business went through power upheavals, but McCabe explains how he’s from Ohio and knows nothing of the term. Daivd knows the Seven Dwarves did this to him and refers to his father’s book as evidence. It all goes back to money. Flashing back to right after the accident, David takes his pain medication while Tommy explains that the bylaws of the board protects David’s 51% of the vote but only if he’s mentally acute. The board wants to declare David incapacitated, but since he can see David is back, he suggests they fight them with David making a return. At the time, David wondered who he could trust. He followed Sofia from a distance but never approaches her, ashamed of what he looked like. Later, David meets with doctors over potential surgeries to fix him, but Dr. Pomeranz (Armand Schultz) talks about one that was discussed already and explains that the potential for intracranial brain damage was too great. David questions if the pins are fastened with any kind of aluminum which could ionize and cause the pressure in his head because he’s ready for another operation. Pomeranz said they were on processes, but David isn’t at the stage where they can experiment. David is adamant they experiment on him and encourages it, but Pomeranz says the headaches will go away. David explains how they are more than headaches, referring to them as steel plates slicing through his every thought. He can’t think straight because of it. Pomeranz offers to increase his medication, but David isn’t interested in that.

Pomeranz reminds him that so many others haven’t had the aesthetic benefit of plastic surgery like David has, but David explains how this isn’t about vanity but rather functioning in the world. He stresses he will pay whatever the price is and demands they invent something.

“You say your the best face man in New York? Fucking prove it.”

One of the doctors says they can do something about his arm, but David retorts, “Fuck my arm!”. Based off the preliminary examination, Pomeranz says they have prepared something for him, as they have not taken his feelings for granted. They give him a facial prosthetic two weeks in the making, as it’s considered useful in the state of rejection. They argue it works emotionally and actually. The plastic in the aesthetic shield blocks out abusive rays and assists in the regeneration of cells. It’s an aesthetic regenerative shield. The ergonomics of the plate barrier allow it to interact reflexively with the movements of David’s face. David is insulted that they suggest he wear a mask any day other than Halloween but takes it just in case. Even so, David attempts to rebuild himself professionally and personally in the meantime, especially in the wake of almost losing the company to the Seven Dwarves. This is quite the uphill battle, but what’s real and what’s not starts to become increasingly less clear as time moves on.

My Thoughts:

Cameron Crowe’s Vanilla Sky has had a mixed reception over the years. Some of its criticism is understood and at times warranted, but some of it isn’t fair at all. Really, a lot of it can be traced back to people wanting it to be something it’s not. It does take its concept from 1997’s Open Your Eyes, but this is a different interpretation of the source material, with producer and star Tom Cruise playing a major role in reconfiguring certain aspects of his character just by being a part of the production and helping shape Crowe’s screenplay with his star persona in Hollywood at the time. In doing so, it becomes entirely its own thing, a whirlwind puzzle that is complex, emotionally draining, artistic, and borderline mystifying as it seeks to blow the audience’s mind. If seen through a different lens, it can also be said that the movie was trying to be more intelligent than what it actually was but just failed to meet its own expectations due to a lack of depth in certain areas.

Is Vanilla Sky an ambitious and at times beautiful, philosophical picture that explores a litany of deep themes in a disorganized and chaotic manner, leading to shocking conclusion that grounds it in an almost disappointing way? It goes without saying that the film’s twisted, ambiguous, nonlinear narrative and its hard-to-distinguish moments of what are dreams and what is reality was its selling point, but did the reveal hurt the movie, or was it more ambiguous than the viewer may have initially given it credit for? At the same time, the screenplay’s teetering between the line of fantasy and surrealism may have only been a primer for what was always going to be a science fiction hardline. It’s all possible, but this is what’s fun about dissecting art. Here, it’s hard to decipher the ultimate point, if there was one, which is why a lot of people have come out of Vanilla Sky with varying responses that land somewhere in-between. The director himself has stated there are five feasible interpretations, though two are arguably too lame to even consider as possibilities. It’s actually insulting if this was just the plot of Brian’s book, and it’s lazy to think that this is something David is hallucinating due to the drugs he’s given from his car accident. There has to be more to it than that, and I refuse to believe otherwise. Following a couple of rewatches over the years, the answers become clearer and clearer to the point where you might be wondering why it took so long for you to get there in the first place, at least in my eyes. Regardless, a rewatch or two isn’t necessary to enjoy Vanilla Sky for all its weirdness. The overall production is fascinating, albeit discombobulating. However, another viewing may be warranted if you want to get to the bottom of this beguiling rabbit hole of a movie. Part of its appeal is Tom Cruise as David Aames Jr., as seeing Cruise in a film like this is much different than anything he’s done before or since. The abstract movie is daring by itself in the way it approaches things, and it makes the viewer uncomfortable as time goes on. To match the downward spiral, Cruise’s performance gets unexpectedly dark. It gives off horror vibes at its apex, as the gloomy story becomes increasingly bewildering with each succeeding minute and twist. By the third act, David becomes this unreliable narrator even unbeknownst to himself, as he can’t decipher the truth anymore to his own surprise.

With his perfect hair, good looks, big-mouthed smile and charm, the captivating Tom Cruise brings in millions of eyes as David Aames Jr., wooing two of the hottest women on the planet at the time in only the first act. Adding to the film’s legacy is the fact that Cruise did it in real life too, dating Penelope Cruz because of this movie, which led to a three-year relationship between the actors. It makes sense too, as their chemistry was unbelievable. Basically, the protagonist personifies the likeable, rich “playboy” archetype. He’s a Hollywood type and knows it, making Cruise’s casting, and how he resonated with the original film and decided to produce, make even more sense. Every woman wants to be with David, and every guy wants to be David, mostly due to the former. He’s been set up perfectly in life due to the hard but ruthless work of his father in the literary world, and it has led to the relatively careless David to take over an empire. Even so, he never appreciates or acknowledges the responsibilities that come with it. Why should he? Everything has fallen into his lap up until this point, he owns a majority of his company’s stock which ensures a lifetime of riches, and he doesn’t have to do much to maintain his position. He doesn’t have a care in the world and there isn’t a reason to have one. He’s perfectly fine going from woman to woman and living an aimless life. The only time he looks unhappy is seeing a white hair on his head. Besides this, he doesn’t show any signs of slowing down until he meets Sofia. This is part of why some people have trouble with the film’s story. The narcissistic David is virtually untouchable and has everything he could possibly want in life. He’s only truly likable because it’s Tom Cruise at his smoothest, playing the role with a smile that can’t be ignored. Nevertheless, the character is not nearly as unlikable as critics pegged him to be. Though he’s not necessarily mature as a businessman and does kind of screw over Brian by taking Sofia from under his nose, he’s still a nice guy who cares about Brian and guys like Tommy. He has a heart and is relatively nice to everyone. His fatal mistake is just how he treats someone like Julie, insisting on being friends or “fuck buddies” and nothing more, even though he knows she wants a relationship. Still, David is at such a great place in life because he lucked into it, which is the biggest problem the audience has with him.

Though I would say this says more about the audience rather than David, it’s still important to note because a movie like this can only work if the character is vulnerable, takes a hit at some point, and works his way back into understanding where he went wrong. Vanilla Sky does do this, despite it not being as satisfactory for some.

David hits the lowest of lows, and it’s hard not for the character to garner enough sympathy in the second half of the film. Even when he’s making everyone around him restless, the viewer will find themselves wanting to see some sort of resolution from all this stress David goes through because no one deserves what happened to him. He is somewhat narcissistic, but he’s not a bad person outright. That’s a close-minded look at the protagonist just because he found himself in a lucky position in life. He deserves much more credit than that. Some have argued that he planned on reverting to his narcissistic mentality of sleeping with every hot woman he encounters by entering that car with Julie after the night with Sofia, but this conclusion is a massive reach. He’s not clueless. David knows she’s stalking him and she’s unwell. Mentally, he’s already moved on from her after hanging out with Sofia. He’s just plotting out a gradual breaking off of things. In addition, he can see Julie’s expressions while she details her sadness over how he’s been treating her, something he is very aware of doing. Julie invites him in the car to make things up for her, implying that they are going to have sex. Even so, David’s uneasy smile is one of concern. It’s a subtle expression that goes unnoticed but is taken at face value, like he’s saying, “Okay, screw it. I’m going to fuck her”. No, this was a smile hiding a face of concern, guaranteed. There is a slight but notable anxiousness in his expression. If he was just going to have sex with her again, there’s no logical reason for him to just leave his car on the road and go with Julie in her car bright and early in the morning. He goes with Julie in her car to talk with her and try to figure her out. For people to immediately condemn David for falling for Sofia but keeping his stalker by his side to fuck her and throw her to the side again, instead of acknowledging that it could be more about fear over how serious Julie is taking their “relationship”, is ignorant. He has a conscience and is intelligent in his own right. He felt guilty in the moment and was trying to play it cool by going in her car to talk her down. To think otherwise just because he’s rich and has a history of being a womanizer is asinine. This whole story is nuanced, as are the character motivations. Just because David has so much to begin with doesn’t make him this asshole who deserves what’s to follow.

Even at his worst, like the uncomfortable club sequence where David dons the mask, gets drunk over his frustrations, and creeps out the love of his life in Sofia and his best friend Brian, how can one not sympathize with what he’s been through? It’s understandable somewhat with Sofia because she does barely know him and David has more romanticized their interactions to the point where we’re not sure how close they actually were for that period of time, but Brian making him feel like shit is unfair. They both know the mask looks ridiculous, but there’s a reason David is wearing it. Brian telling him it’s creepy isn’t earth-shattering news that he’s unaware of. Though I still agree wholeheartedly with his statement to the doctors in that this is more about functioning in society rather than vanity, David’s livelihood was his look. Who are we to blame him for how he feels about himself? He can’t even look in the mirror without being depressed, and this mask is designed to help him feel protected as well as give him some confidence when he needs it most. It’s the only reason he came out of the house! Yeah, it’s hard for people who haven’t been horribly disfigured from a car crash to understand, but to put the blame on David for feeling sorry for himself is insanely selfish, no? Why is everyone acting like David is some random motherfucker who should just “get over it”? As funny as the line was, David yelling at Brian, “That’s bullshit because I think I’m being pretty fucking cool about this whole thing!” were my thoughts exactly. Sure, it’s been months of his wallowing in misery, but that’s how depression works. Plus, this isn’t someone being depressed coming out of a bad breakup. David was with a girl who committed suicide by purposely crashing the car they were in, and the result was his face and arm being broken into pieces. On top of that, her breakdown came from the drunken conversation Brian had with her since he was the one who told her she was “fuck buddies” with David (“She was a little more than pissed about it”). How does David not have a right to be angry? Why can’t he harbor these feelings? It ruined his fucking life, and Brian did play a part in it. You saw him look away after he denied saying to Julie! The mental anguish David is dealing with is something nobody can relate to!

The lack of empathy from those around him is what’s more infuriating than David spiraling into an inescapable madness due to his personal narcissism, a trait that is massively overplayed in regard to the critiques of the main character. The bartender had more sympathy for David than Brian did (“It’s on the house.”- “Why?” – “It just is, bitch.”). That’s bullshit. In addition, the mask helps regenerate the cells on his face, so there’s actually a medical benefit to having it! Even if he does look like the Phantom of the Opera, the lack of understanding from everyone else should make more viewers see things from David’s side rather than everyone fully falling into the veil of “He’s a rich dick”. People act like they have never tried to steal their friend’s girl before like they are higher and mightier than David is, and he should be condemned to hell for it. Look, no one is saying it’s right, but let’s not act like he deserves to be literally and figuratively scarred for life for such an action. David has lost everything and is still on the verge of losing more. I can’t say I would be well-adjusted after such a devastating accident either. Put yourself in his shoes. How would you react to all of this?

Exactly.

On the other hand, the film could be looked at as a vanity project for Cruise himself, as the narrative is driven completely by him and his actions while allowing him to show off more dimensions to his abilities as an actor. As previously mentioned, how David starts out is purely Tom Cruise and how he was recognized in Hollywood and the press at the time. Afterwards however is the real treat. His breakdown following the accident, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde flip-flopping as he deals with his disfigurement and subsequent depression before recovering, is gripping and dark enough to bring you down with him as he hits his lowest point, falling asleep on the sidewalk in New York. He slowly but surely recovers by rekindling things with Sofia, but his Jekyll and Hyde performance is amplified furthermore by how difficult it becomes for David to figure out what is actually happening and what are dreams trying to overtake his head. The manic and violent undertones about to explode while David nears and reaches moments of personal meltdowns are done very well by Cruise (exemplified by the terrifying sequence where he can’t distinguish Sofia from Julie), and it matches the nightmarish explanations to what is truly going on. By the way, ironically playing “Good Vibrations” during one of these pivotal breakdowns was genius.

From a cinematic perspective, the general creepiness of the mask is a symbol of the film and really helps the story take an unexpected, exciting, and almost scary direction. Having it be such a big part of the story was an excellent choice, as it helped certain moments stay in your subconscious in some fashion, like the image of him dancing in the club and it’s on the other side of his head. A portion of Vanilla Sky is about the fear of the unknown. Cruise donning the mask as protection from the unknown, and the realities of what is happening to him and his life, is a startling way to send this message. Can you imagine using a good-looking movie star like Tom Cruise and having him wear a mask for a portion of the movie? Yeah, that will send a message of unpredictability and uncomfortableness rather easily. On a side note, talking about LE as a realistic work of art painted by the user is an intriguing way to sell the concept from a pitch standpoint, but the ironic line from a testimonial arguing, “I don’t think that God disapproves of this” was a great soundbite to foreshadow the dangers of what’s to come.

To answer certain questions without spoiling the mystifying attributes of Vanilla Sky, it’s not a film that goes as deep as something like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a movie that uses sci-fi to set the table but isn’t interested in going much deeper than that regarding the science fiction elements of it all. Vanilla Sky‘s plot could be described as Total Recall but with better acting, and a series of psychological twists and emotionally draining scenes replacing the action sequences. Going along with this, Vanilla Sky could even be looked at similarly to Fight Club in that it’s an exploration of a lot of deeper themes and topics, but it’s pivotal plot twists within its trippy presentation is for the art of the game and the entertainment of it all. The unveiling of Life Extension and the reality of David’s situation may not be as big of a “mind fuck” as the one in Fight Club, but the similarities to how both movies reach their shocking conclusions are evident. It’s just up to the viewer if it helps or hurts the film. Some still clown Fight Club for its twist, but others see it as genius. In the case of Vanilla Sky, it gives us hope in a film that otherwise gets increasingly dreary with each beat. That’s not a negative thing. In my opened eyes on subsequent rewatches, I have found that it completes the movie. Plus, it leaves just enough open at the end to let us breathe and think of the possibilities while we are at our most emotional. It might be too perplexing to digest overall for a lot of viewers, but I’m in the camp that sees it’s worth. Again, the answer is even more evident following another watch or two and turns into a logical plot point rather than a perceived twist (the Monet-like sky when Sofia wakes him up should have been an obvious visual clue as to why it all connects). With that being said, the final lines being said by a different person than who we are expecting does complicate things, but hey, it’s fun to analyze, isn’t it?

Also, the real shocker wasn’t even the reveal but rather the details of LE, with David shaping things from the iconography of his youth to recreate things. It goes completely unnoticed until Ventura points it out. When he does though, jaws will be dropped. The additional “choice is yours” moment from Ventura to David where he talks about how the panel is awaiting his decision, and the characters look directly into the camera and into the soul of the viewer was a cool creative decision too.

Cameron Diaz and Penélope Cruz playing polar opposites of each other, despite both being two of the most beautiful actresses of the 2000s is yet another positive of the film. Diaz’s portrayal of the hot, head-turner of a woman only to be a mentally dwindling stalker whose inability to accept David not wanting a relationship with her has driven her to insanity was very well done. On the other hand, Cruz is fantastic as the cute, low-key, witty, “girl next door” gem Brian managed to find at the library. She doesn’t have to dress a certain way to get attention. Cruz is just alluring with her mere presence. When David draws Sofia’s eyes behind her notebook, this simplistic depiction of her on paper manages to capture how pretty she actually is. There’s something about how subdued she plays it that makes the heart flutter. Though David may have dreamt about what could have been between them despite not spending much time with her in reality, it doesn’t take much from the viewer to fully buy into his obsession with Sofia and seeing this future with her. Sofia has this “it” about her that Julie doesn’t, even though Julie is an incredible beauty in her own right. It’s not about the actresses at this point, even though they are the ones’ that made this story all work. It’s purely about the characters of Sofia and Julie, and how David perceives them both. Seeing the secret romantic David actually is when he’s with someone he cares about and connects with like Sofia means the world to us, which makes the events of the movie so heartbreaking. This trait almost didn’t exist before in David, but when he met her, everything changed, and it just came out of him. All he needed was just a little more time, and maybe things would have been different. He may not have had figured out what happiness was to him, but Sofia may have been it. The cynical viewer may see it as David overthinking some small flirty hangout sessions between them, but Edmund Ventura explaining the reality of what happened to him and the fallout shows that there was something there. Sofia felt something too and never fully recovered. It wasn’t entirely made up in David’s head nor was she a “proximity infatuation” like Brian said. We see it in her eyes during the climax of the movie, tearing up when she sees Brian.

She never forgot that one night where true love seemed possible. It’s just that one mistake cost them both everything (“It’s the little things. There’s nothing bigger, is there?”). It’s why such a simple admittance of, “I lost you when I got in that car. I’m sorry”, makes our hearts sink. Though it’s a depressing way to present it, the events of David’s life personify Brian’s words about how the sweet is never as sweet without the sour.

“Open your eyes”.

These haunting but softly spoken words by Penélope Cruz will ring in your head for years after the fact after you experience the self-awakening journey of the intense Vanilla Sky. It’s a strange and ambitious affair, but it’s an experience that is hard to forget. The poster really undersells how consistently engaging and wild it actually is. The film is a balancing act with the imaginative and psychological story focusing on gripping themes such as redemption, guilt, love, dreams, nightmares, hope, the power of the subconscious, and mortality while intentionally misleading the audience with certain moments, falling back into a science fiction overlay that can either be interpreted as a cop out or a poetic and boldly cinematic finale depending on who you talk to. Either way, the anxiousness and exhilaration felt during a viewing of Vanilla Sky deserves to be seen.