Tom Cruise has been one of Hollywood’s top leading men for four decades, but he has a hidden masterpiece from 2001 that doesn’t get enough credit. Five years after Cruise starred inCameron Crowe’s massiveromantic comedy hitJerry Maguire, the two re-teamed for the psychological sci-fi thrillerVanilla Sky,a remake of a 1997 Spanish-language film.
Vanilla Skytells thestory of David Aames, Jr. (Tom Cruise),the wealthy owner of a publishing company he inherited. However, David is in prison for killing his lover and is telling his story toa court psychologist (Kurt Russell).Soon, the two men realizethere might be a conspiracy against David,and the truth leads to an extraordinary discovery.
Why Tom Cruise’s Vanilla Sky Is Secretly A 2000s Movie Masterpiece
Cameron Crowe & Tom Cruise Created A Cult Classic
When Crowe andCruise madeJerry Maguire,it was lightning in a bottle. Crowe used Cruise’s movie star looks and charisma to tell the story of someone who finds love in an unexpected place, and it worked perfectly.InVanilla Sky,Crowe used Cruise’s looks differently, as he showed them from a point of vanity and then broke him down.
InVanilla Sky, David is a wealthy womanizer who meets a new woman named Sofia (Penélope Cruz) and the two end up falling in love. However, David has a former jealous girlfriend named Julie (Cameron Diaz) who offers him a ride and then purposefully crashes the car, killing herself, and leaving David’s face disfigured.
David slips into a depression, which Sofia helps pull him out of. However, when he wakes up with her one day andsees that Julie has replaced Sofia, he freaks out and kills her.This leads to the main story, with unexpected twists and turns that reveal nothing in David’s world was as it seemed since the accident.
The originalVanilla Skyscript was written by Alejandro Amenábar & Mateo Gil.
HavingVanilla Skydeconstruct Tom Cruise for what remains one of his most distinguishable traits was daring, and it worked perfectly. However, there was more to the movie than just breaking down Cruise’s persona. As expected from a Cameron Crowe movie, music played a considerable role in the storytelling.
Crowe’s career genesis was as a music journalist, and he knows how music tells a story. His wife at the time, Nancy Wilson of Heart, scored the movie, and it includes some iconic songs. The most memorable of these was The Beach Boys' “Good Vibrations” during the climax when the final mind-bending twist was revealed.
Results
Academy Awards
Lost to Randy Newman’s “If I Didn’t Have You” fromMonsters Inc.
Lost to Sting’s “Until…” fromKate & Leopold
Grammy Awards
Critics' Choice Awards
Winner
Vanilla Skyeven earned an Oscar nomination for Best Song, forPaul McCartney’s “Vanilla Sky,“a track that the Beatles' superstar recorded for the movie after seeing about half an hour of the film’s footage. The soundtrack also included songs by Radiohead, R.E.M., Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan, and many more.
Why Vanilla Sky Wasn’t Appreciated More Upon Release
The Complex Structure Required Multiple Viewings
WhenVanilla Skywas released, it was met with excitement by many fans. The last timeCameron Crowe and Tom Cruise collaboratedwas on the highly successfulJerry Maguire,a romantic comedy thatwon Cuba Gooding Jr. an Oscarfor Best Supporting Actor and remains a beloved genre entry to this day.Vanilla Skywas very different though.
Before this,Crowe had made mostly real-life movies.He told stories about the Seattle grunge scene (Singles), a cute coming-of-age rom-com (Say Anything), and a semi-autobiographical look at a rock band on the road (Almost Famous).Vanilla Skywas his first foray into sci-fi, and it was the last time he would take a chance like this in his career.
It seems that, at the time, no one wanted to see Tom Cruise in a psychological thriller that seemed more confusing than his typical action roles. Even his other sci-fi movies seemed straightforward, andthis wasn’t what fans of Cruise or Crowe wanted from them.The movie performed well at the box office, but its reviews were less than favorable.
Reviews complained about its complicated structure.
Most of the reviews complained about its complicated structure, which was sure to turn off some moviegoers.Roger Ebert saidas much in his positive review when he wrote that “This is the kind of movie you don’t want to analyze until you’ve seen it two times.” So,Vanilla Skyneeded to become a cult classic to find its legacy.
Vanilla Sky Is A Remake Of A Movie That’s Also Brilliant
Penélope Cruz Starred In Both Versions
Vanilla Skywas the remake ofAlejandro Amenábar’s 1997 Spanish filmAbre Los Ojos(Open Your Eyes).The two movies shared one star, withPenélope Cruz playing the love interest Sofía in each version.The film has the same basic story, with the womanizing lead character (Eduardo Noriega in this original) left confused after an accident left him disfigured.
87%
88%
7.7/10
42%
72%
6.9/10
Interestingly, whileVanilla Skyhas a low 42% Rotten Tomatoes score,Open Your Eyeshas a much higher 87% rating. While Tom Cruise’s movie has become a cult classic,Open Your Eyeswas respected from the start. It even earned 10 Goya Awards nominations, Spain’s version of the Academy Awards.
Vanilla Skyis mostly overshadowed by the idea of a conspiracy, making it more of a thriller than a dark exploration of the main character.
WhatOpen Your Eyesdoes differently fromVanilla Skyis that it tells the story in a darker and more introspective tone. WhileVanilla Skyfeatures a vain and arrogant man thrust into a horrific situation, that story is mostly overshadowed by the idea of a conspiracy, making it more of a thriller than a dark exploration of the protagonist.
Also, despite its confusing narrative,Vanilla Skyanswered the questions and wasn’t anywhere near as ambiguous as Amenábar’s film. Both are great in their own ways, but they tell the story differently; the original is a complex drama, and the latter is more of a psychological thriller.
