Vanilla Sky-Visionary
Say what you will about one Tom Cruise, he or the people he works with know how to pick a script. Vanilla Sky is, overall, an underappreciated film. Part of the reason that the film has not received the credit it deserves is that Vanilla Sky does something that many people don't like, in that it crosses genres and evolves from one film in the beginning to another at the end. This is a very intelligent script but some may find it irritating. Some may be reminded of Jacob's Ladder when watching Vanilla Sky, so if you hated Jacob's Ladder you might not like Vanilla Sky.
This is a tough film to review without giving any of the plot away. Vanilla Sky is a remake, which of course means it falls into one of a handful of categories Hollywood is comfortable with producing, of the Spanish film Abre Los Ojos. The original screenplay was written by Alejandro Amenabar and Mateo Gil and the reworking by Cameron Crowe, who also directs.
Beyond the strong script, what makes Vanilla Sky work so well is the fine cast, with the notable exception of Penelope Cruz, who simply does not work. I will admit a definite bias, as I do not feel Cruz has the talent or looks to be a lead actress. Sorry, but I think most people, deep down know this is the case. The rest of the cast, ranging from Tom Cruise to Kurt Russell and Cameron Diaz are dead on.
In one regard the film really stands out, that is budget, as Vanilla Sky came in somewhere around $70 million dollars. Considering that Tom Cruise's enormously heavy paycheck also had to be dealt with, this is a nice accomplishment. Released in 2001, Hollywood budgets had already become comical for anything approximating a big-budget release so a special nod is in order for director Cameron Crowe.
Note, I am skipping what Vanilla Sky is about. Just rent it, if you haven't seen it and skip reading the box for a synopsis. Love it or hate it, you will probably find Vanilla Sky interesting at worse and a great film at best.
Story A+ (Vanilla Sky is one of the most original scripts to be produced in Hollywood in the last decade.)
Acting B+ (Vanilla Sky would have been a much better film, minus Penelope Cruz.)
Visuals A
Originality/Innovation A+ (It is nice to see a screenplay with some originality in it.)
Enjoyability Grade A
Home Theater/HD Factor A
Overall Grade A+ (The script overcomes the huge problem of Penelope Cruz who is really a supporting actress with a funky accent and not a lead.)
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