A man with facial disfigurement is accused of murder in a world where nothing is as it seems and reality itself begins to come apart for everyone involved.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; my favorite genre of film is anything that delves into the interior of the mind. There’s nothing more interesting than the concept of trying to unravel the human psyche in film form, and few films have ever done it as well as Vanilla Sky. Taking on the concept of lucid dreaming, fracturing mental states, and the effect that trauma can have on the mind, Vanilla Sky is not only an exercise in science fiction and the depths of imagination, but also humanity, love, and the things that make us tick. While many wrote the film off as another Tom Cruise-powered blockbuster with little substance and that infamously expensive scene where they shut down Times Square, Vanilla Sky is anything but simple and flat, and it’ll have you thinking by the time the credits roll.
Cameron Crowe is quite the creative. While he’s had varied success with his output, no one can deny that he’s very capable of creating a great film, and Vanilla Sky is no different. Adapted by Crowe from Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil’s the original film, the Spanish language Open Your Eyes, Vanilla Sky takes everything that makes the source material wonderful and then turns it up to eleven. It’s bigger and louder than the original, and just different enough to constitute watching both. Even if Penelope Cruz plays the same character in both of them. Weirdly enough, though, given the subject matter of the film, it almost feels like two sides of the same coin, as if they could both very well be set within the same universe.
And let’s not forget to mention that she does a fantastic job with that role, anyway. Didn’t fix what ain’t broken, right? Her chemistry with Tom Cruise is fiery and off the charts, and Cruise’s performance here is captivating and moving. He plays both ends of the spectrum of his character so well that you can’t help but feel every layer of contempt and sorrow for him, though I found there was never a moment in which I forgot that he was, in fact, Tom Cruise. Cameron Diaz is even more stellar here, with her crazed and obsessive behavior being the catalyst for the entire plot of the film. And let’s not forget the always absolutely phenomenal Kurt Russell, who has always been and will always be a favorite of mine, and this film is no different. I just adore that man.
The makeup effects are truly wonderful in Vanilla Sky, too. They somehow “screw up” Tom Cruise’s face in a way that both still resembles our big leading man and also disturbs you to the point that you understand everything he feels. Cinematography by John Toll is superb, as well, with every scene looking timeless and flawless, and the score by Nancy Wilson will have you getting your seat and bawling your eyes out at just the right moments.
Vanilla Sky might be a product of its big star power, but that doesn’t mean it’s a shallow blockbuster flash in the pan. If you’ve not seen it yet, you should probably check it out now, rather than waiting until another life, when we’re both cats.