Vanilla Sky poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Jason Lee, Kurt Russell ... see more see more... , Noah Taylor , Timothy Spall , Tilda Swinton , Alicia Witt , Johnny Galecki , Michael Shannon

A remake of the Spanish film Open Your Eyes (1997), this thriller from director Cameron Crowe bears one of several discarded titles for his previous, Oscar-winning film Almost Famous (2000). Tom Cruis... read more read more...e stars as David Ames, a womanizing playboy who finds romantic redemption when he falls in love with his best friend's girlfriend Sofia (Penelope Cruz, reprising her role from the original film). Before that relationship can begin, however, David is coaxed into a car driven by an ex-lover, Julie (Cameron Diaz), who turns out to be suicidal. Driving her car off a bridge, Julie kills herself and horribly disfigures David. Reconstructive surgery and the loving support of Sofia seem to reverse David's luck, but eerie incidents are soon making him question the reality of his existence and his control over his life, even while he is suspected of complicity in Julie's death. Vanilla Sky (2001) bears the expected Crowe trademark of an obsession with recent pop culture and particularly rock music, a more important element of the remake than the original film. That project's writer/director, Alejandro Amenabar, crafted his own supernatural hit the same year with The Others (2001), starring Nicole Kidman, the soon-to-be-ex-wife of Cruise. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Flixster Users

68% liked it

269,094 ratings

Critics

40% liked it

163 critics

R, 2 hr. 14 min.

Directed by: Cameron Crowe

Release Date: December 14, 2001

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: May 21, 2002

Get It:

Stats: 15,638 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Vanilla Sky Vanilla Sky Vanilla Sky Vanilla Sky Vanilla Sky Vanilla Sky Vanilla Sky Vanilla Sky draw of Sofìa Vanilla Sky Penelope Cruz David Aames and Sofía Serrano Penelope Cruz Vanilla Sky Vanilla Sky PENELOPE CRUZ Vanilla Sky Vanilla Sky
Upload a Photo | View All Vanilla Sky Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (15,638)

  • TheDudeLebowski65
    February 7, 2012
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Vanilla Sky is a very interesting and somewhat bizarre film. I saw this when it first came out and thought it was a good film with some good performances. Tom Cruise is good here, and the rest of the cast are good as well. Cameron Crowe who directed Almost Famous and Elizabethtow... read moren directs this film, and though this isn't a perfect film, it definitely isn't a bad one. Cameron Crowe is an underrated director and Vanilla Sky is another good effort from him. Though not his best, Vanilla Sky is a very good film that is engaging, and like I said, pretty bizarre. If you enjoy Cameron Crowe, you'll most likely enjoy this. Vanilla Sky is different, but it's still has enough good things about it to make it a viewable film. I thought that Tom Cruise was pretty good in his role and most of the cast were good as well. Vanilla Sky is underrated, and though it's not a perfect film, it still has lots of interesting bits for the viewer to enjoy. I very much enjoyed this film, and thought that the bizarre story was good, and that Cameron Crowe delivered yet another good flick. I think Cameron Crowe is a very underrated director. Vanilla Sky is not the directors strongest effort, but for the most part, it's a film worth watching. The cast makes this a worthwhile film to watch, and though it's not a great film; this is a unique viewing experience.
  • fb100002359227440
    June 23, 2011
    fb100002359227440
    Interesting film, but fully unnecessary remake.
  • crunchbunch
    January 27, 2011
    crunchbunch
    Bizarre. Intriguing. Confusing. Intense. Vanilla sky could be described as any of these and for me was a huge succes.

    Well filmed and good direction we are treated with a standout performance by Tom Cruise as he plays David Aames, a playboy executive type who's world begins to... read more merge dream and reality. We've all had a dream that felt so real it was hard to tell the difference until you woke up, well Vanilla Sky explores that and tips it on its head.

    The scenes with Kurt Russell interrogating a locked up Aames are intense as we witness the flashbacks that lead up to someone dying, perhaps a murder.

    Trippy, good fun and possibly Tom Cruise's best film of the last 10 years.

    "Even in the future, the sweet is never as sweet without the sour. "
  • garyX
    January 21, 2011
    garyX
    The young head of a multi-million dollar publishing empire is almost killed by a suicidal stalker and during the process of putting his life back together, it seems to become a strange blurring of fact and fiction. The dreams vs reality format draws inevitable comparisons with th... read moree likes of Total Recall and Inception and the moment the breezy romance gives way to the alternate scenario of a masked Cruise awaiting trial for murder the story becomes very intriguing. He actually gives a decent lead performance (although it is, as ever, impossible not to think of wacky pseudo religions and dwarfism every time you look at him), Jason Lee does his usual quirky best friend schtick and Penelope Cruz is cute as the romantic interest. But really it is Kurt Russell who makes the movie and all of the scenes that feature him are easily the best in the film. As is always the case with this kind of hokey Twilight Zone inspired story, the explanation for it all is far less interesting than the journey and the fact that Cruise's character is pretty much just a charming but vain, selfish asshole who learns no moral lesson makes the ending a little unsatisfactory. As with all Crowe's films, it does seem a case of style over substance but it's very entertaining while it lasts and made me want to look up Abre Los Ojos, the Spanish film it was based upon.
  • itsjustme2004
    November 8, 2010
    itsjustme2004
    Other reviewers state that this is a movie that should be viewed several times, and that it is either a love it or hate it kind of movie. I think those are accurate, but I fall into the hate camp, so I never watched it again. Truthfully, I didn't really get it the first time, and... read more was pretty bored by the end.
  • matertenebraum
    June 15, 2010
    matertenebraum
    Recently the BBC in UK held a poll for worst film ever, and while Titanic *won*, this came 4th. I just don't understand how anyone can dislike this movie...

    Vanilla Sky is a dark psychological drama about dreams, reality and 'what might have been'.

    Tom Cruise is Dave, a yuppie ... read morewho has it all. He has a 51% stake in his father's company, therefore the majority shareholder, and constantly finds himself in a battle to main his control over the '7 dwarves' who make up the rest of the board. His personal life is a mess, with a shallow relationship with Julie (Cameron Diaz) the closest he gets to love, while his best friend Brian (Jason Lee) who adores Julie sticks by him regardless.

    However, on holding a birthday party he's introduced to Sofia (The perfect Penelope Cruz) and falls instantly for her.

    This is all very well but the plot is parallel to a side story of Dave wearing a white mask in a cell with Dr McCabe (Kurt Russell) who's accusing him of murder and wants to understand why it happened.

    Dave begins on a journey to make sense of his life.

    I admit there is a 'Hollywoody' feel to this film, and given it's a remake of a Mexican/Spanish original also featuring Penelope Cruz it's probably disappointing to purists. But only viewing this on its own terms I absolutely love this movie. It keeps you guessing, and the ending is very conclusive.

    It may not be to everyone's taste, but I loved it.
  • guaybanex
    February 6, 2010
    guaybanex
    Good story done bad
  • ScoopOnline
    December 19, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    Vanilla Sky was big Joy to watch. I like the bit like that completely empty Times Square Scene.

    Trivia:
    The shooting of the scene where there is a completely-empty Times Square in New York was filmed in Times Square on November 12, 2000, in the hours before 10 a.m.. A large sect... read moreion of blocks around Times Square was closed off while this scene was shot.
  • arashxak
    December 4, 2009
    arashxak
    An unforgivable inuslt
  • ythelastman89
    December 2, 2009
    ythelastman89
    A truly bizarre movie that is actually Cameron Crowe's finest film making. It has a great visual style and definite tone. Tom Cruise was flawless and different than I've ever seen him before. The plot is really well conceived and quite nightmarish.

View All Vanilla Sky Reviews

Critic Reviews

Rex Reed
December 19, 2001
Rex Reed, New York Observer

A good example of what self-destructive cinematic havoc can be wrought by handing over millions of dollars to movie stars to produce their own ego trips. Full Review

Richard Roeper
December 18, 2001
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

[A] spectacular film! Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
December 18, 2001
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

If Crowe's eyes are open, he seems to have directed most of Vanilla Sky with his mind wide shut. Full Review

Joel Siegel
December 17, 2001
Joel Siegel, ABCNEWS.COM

I have no idea why one of our most original film-makers would want to spend two years of his life translating someone else's movie from Spanish into English. And it wasn't such a good film in Spanish,...

Stephanie Zacharek
December 15, 2001
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Who would have thought that Cameron Crowe had a movie as bad as Vanilla Sky in him? Full Review

Desson Thomson
December 14, 2001
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

For all the filmmakers' efforts, this project is something of an artistic albatross.

Stephen Hunter
December 14, 2001
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

A case of the vain leading the bland.

Mike Clark
December 14, 2001
Mike Clark, USA Today

What works in a quirky foreign film can look silly with expansive Hollywood treatment. Full Review

Peter Howell
December 14, 2001
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

It's not really a bad film -- it couldn't be, given the high level of talent involved -- but it is a rather pointless one. Full Review

Edward Guthmann
December 14, 2001
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

The film's aim -- to dazzle and inspire -- is sapped by Cruise's vein-popping, running-the-marathon performance. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Open Your Eyes (Abre los ojos) (Permanent Midnight)
    Open Your Eyes (Abre los ojos) (Permanent Mid... (87%)
  • Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
    Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (73%)
  • Limitless
    Limitless (90%)
  • Code 46
    Code 46 (55%)

More Movies like Vanilla Sky

Facts

Submit a Fact | View All
    • Rebecca Dearborn: Most of us live our whole lives... without any real adventure to call our own.
    • Edmund Ventura: You were missed, David.
    • David Aames: Oh no It's (the prosthetic mask) great. It completely takes care of Halloween. But what about the other three hundred and sixty four days of the year?
    • Sofia Serrano: I'll tell you in another life, when we are both cats.
    • Sofia Serrano: Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.
Submit a Fact | View All

Vanilla Sky : Watch Free on TV

Vanilla Sky Trivia

  • In the making of what Tom Cruise movie was unprecedented permission given to shut down Times Square for one Sunday?  Answer »
  • Which actor is David Aames in Vanilla Sky?  Answer »
  • Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz and Penelope Cruz. Name The Film  Answer »
  • In which Tom Cruise film does Steven Spielberg make a brief on screen appearance?  Answer »
More Vanilla Sky Trivia

Movie Quizzes

Create a Quiz |

All Quizzes

Video Clips

Upload a Video |

All Vanilla Sky Videos

Meet Other Fans

Add Vanilla Sky to favorites

Recent News

Submit a Story |

View Vanilla Sky News

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?