Cameron Crowe’s “Vanilla Sky” unfolds like a bittersweet fever dream. Despite doing exceptionally well at the box office, the film received mixed critical reception, as it was perceived as thematically muddled at the time. There’s some truth to this, as “Vanilla Sky” is an inferior adaptation of the Spanish film “Open Your Eyes,” partially because it holds its cards too close to its chest and reveals the climactic twist a bit too late.
But once you accept these shortcomings and evaluate the film on its own merits, “Vanilla Sky” emerges as a competent puzzle-box mystery with a fiery heart at its center. Compound this with stellar performances across the board (Tom Cruise! Cameron Diaz! Penélope Cruz!), you get a layered film that delves deep into the psychosexual impulses that shape our perception of love and self-identity.
Another memorable performance is Kurt Russell as Dr. Curtis McCabe, who listens to the complex events narrated by maligned millionaire David Aames (Cruise), who is in prison. Russell’s character acts as a voice of reason in a story entrenched in surreal elements, serving as a grounding force to Aames’ more agitated personality. While the truth is far more complicated than what both McCabe and Aames envision it to be, this key dynamic in “Vanilla Sky” helps establish a baseline to help us better understand Aames’ convoluted perspective.
Russell told Entertainment Weekly that he did not read Crowe’s script for “Vanilla Sky” before signing on, as he was more than happy to work with Crowe and the cast, irrespective of what the film was about:
“Back before I signed on to ‘Vanilla Sky’ with Tom Cruise and Cameron Crowe, my agent and I were talking on the phone, and I said, ‘Yeah, I want to work with those guys.’ And he said, ‘Well, do you want to read the script first?’ And I said, ‘No, I don’t care if it’s one line or a hundred lines, if they kill seven people or what. It doesn’t make any difference. I want to work with those people, I think they’d be fun to work with.'”
Seems like Russell did have fun filming “Vanilla Sky” with the folks he wanted to work with, and that the cryptic, psychologically intense nature of the story turned out to be a fun little bonus.
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Kurt Russell’s eagerness to work alongside Cruise in Vanilla Sky paid off
A masked Aames opens up to McCabe in Vanilla Sky – Paramount Pictures
“Vanilla Sky” is far from the only film that Russell had signed on for without reading the script. In the same interview, Russell mentions he joined Wolfgang Petersen’s “Poseidon” only because he wanted to work with the acclaimed director. The script was a secondary priority in that moment, as Russell trusted Peterson’s instincts as a filmmaker, giving over to his an underwater disaster flick with Russell’s Robert Ramsey at the forefront. Unfortunately, the film was a box office flop and received mostly negative reviews; judging by the actor’s enthusiastic perspective, it’s likely that Russell treasures the experience regardless of how the film ended up faring financially.
“Vanilla Sky,” however, is a different story. Russell’s eagerness to share the screen with Cruise makes sense, as the two had come very close to playing brothers in the 1991 action thriller, “Backdraft.” It’s also worth mentioning that Cruise was the one to mention “Backdraft” to Russell when the two bonded over their mutual love for extreme aerial sports at the time. Unfortunately, Cruise had to decline the role due to conflicting schedules, and Russell signed on to play one of the McCaffrey brothers alongside William Baldwin. “Vanilla Sky” was a chance for both actors to finally work together, and this decision pays off immensely in favor of the film, as every Aames-McCabe interaction inches us closer to the true nature of “Vanilla Sky.”
Even if we move past this character dynamic, Crowe’s film cleverly uses Aames’ disorienting experience to examine identity along with the conflicting relationship between the mind and the body. Aames can fool his mind (and body) into living a lie, but the subconscious always finds a way to resurface, turning the sweetest dreams into bitter nightmares. This also offers a scathing commentary on escapism as a coping mechanism, where the search for happiness can turn into a horrible self-effacing cycle with no exits. While “Vanilla Sky” can leave you feeling a bit lightheaded after the credits roll, it’s a worthwhile feeling nonetheless — like waking up after a bewildering dream.
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