Vanilla Sky earned an easy spot on my top 10 all time favorite films list. I think it’s a crazy underrated, phenomenal movie. I’ve come to realize that a lot of people haven’t even heard of it and a lot are turned off by Tom Cruise as the lead.
There’s actually a pretty cool chapter about this topic in Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman. A hilarious book by a great writer.
To surmise:
- It’s a sci-fi-ish/futuristic “what is reality movie?” People weren’t expecting a movie with a bunch of A-listers to have such a mindfuck plot.
- Tom Cruise is polarizing.
- The music was sometimes on point and at others just Cameron Crowe’s iPod Shuffle set to play.
Regardless, the opening scene is a real wonder. It features an insanely rare and beautiful Ferrari 250 GTO, a completely deserted Times Square (not CGI but practical, those 30 seconds alone ran $1m), a legendary Radiohead song and an IWC Mark XV wristwatch. It’s all there. So if you’re unfamiliar with Vanilla Sky, go watch it. Also, the film features the best use of a Beach Boys song, ever. Spoilers, but entertaining if you’ve seen the flick:
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