Vanilla Sky

"LoveHateDreamsLifeWorkPlayFriendshipSex."

2001 2h 16m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 4,882

MysteryRomanceScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

David Aames has it all: wealth, good looks and gorgeous women on his arm. But just as he begins falling for the warmhearted Sofia, his face is horribly disfigured in a car accident. That's just the beginning of his troubles as the lines between illusion and reality, between life and death, are blurred.

“LoveHateDreamsLifeWorkPlayFriendshipSex.”

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Cast

Tom Cruise
David Aames
Penélope Cruz
Sofia Serrano
Cameron Diaz
Julie Gianni
Kurt Russell
Curtis McCabe
Jason Lee
Brian Shelby
Noah Taylor
Edmund Ventura
Timothy Spall
Thomas Tipp
Tilda Swinton
Rebecca Dearborn

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Cameron Crowe
Writers: Cameron Crowe, Mateo Gil, Alejandro Amenábar
Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese
Countries: United States of America, Spain

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $68M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Spain.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Cameron Crowe, shot by John Toll. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Nancy Wilson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Joe Hutshing shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tom Cruise and Penélope Cruz and Cameron Diaz carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Cameron Crowe directs. John Toll behind the camera. Nancy Wilson scores. Joe Hutshing cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America, Spain. Dialogue in English, Spanish, Portuguese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $68M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
225 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese.
4International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Spain.
5Directed by Cameron Crowe, shot by John Toll. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Nancy Wilson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Joe Hutshing shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Tom Cruise and Penélope Cruz and Cameron Diaz carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "LoveHateDreamsLifeWorkPlayFriendshipSex.".
10IMDB entry: tt0259711 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 36 themes, including "regret", "jealousy", "amnesia", "dreams".

The technical file

Cinematography: John Toll
Original score: Nancy Wilson
Editing: Joe Hutshing
Production design: Catherine Hardwicke
Costume design: Betsy Heimann
Makeup / hair: Howard Berger
VFX supervisor: Kevin Scott Mack
Stunt coordinator: Brian Smrz
Runtime: 136 min · 2h 16m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $68,000,000
Box office: $203,388,341
Return: 299% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Vanilla Sky (2001)

Awards

Saturn Award for Best Actor
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Cameron Crowe

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522020-06-27
★ 9/10
Still love this film all these years later though decided to watch it fully with the alternate ending which really didn't care for, didn't flow nearly as well. That said, and watching the original ending afterwards, just so great with wonderful performances from all involved. Certainly follows the theme of sweet and sour. 4.5/5
CinemaSerf2024-04-18
★ 7/10
I'm not really a fan of Tom Cruise, but I think this film might be his finest example of actually not just being all teeth and torso. He might actually do some acting here as the full-of-himself publisher "Aames" who lives the life of the wealthy playboy. A beautiful apartment, vintage car and convenient relationship with "Julie" (Cameron Diaz) fill his days of inherited luxury. Then his world comes, quite literally, crashing about his ears and he finds himself in jail explaining what happened to psychologist "McCabe" (the sparingly used Kurt Russell). It's a story of jealousy that leads to suicide, disfigurement and presents us with a rather stark indictment of this man's rather shallow and selfish life. His decline all starts when "Julie" - who seems quite a bit more invested in their relationship than he does - gets a bit jealous of his flirtations with "Sofia" (Penélope Cruz) who was dating his best friend "Shelby" (Jason Lee) until he brings her along to his party. Then sexual chemistry starts buzzing but that quite quickly adds a toxic element to just about everyone's lives. His have my cake and eat it approach swiftly leads to a series of circumstances that not only leads to his current predicament but also causes him to vacillate between worlds of dream and reality - he simply isn't sure what is happening any more. Which, if any of the scenarios unfolding is the true one? Are any of them? The story itself is not especially innovative. What does impress here is Cruise playing a character that is pretty unlikeable and he does it well. He imbues "Aames" with characteristics that made me feel a life behind bars was just about right. Unfortunately, I felt Cruz's "Sofia" character a bit under-developed but there are plaudits for Diaz who really does deliver her role of the jilted, besotted, lover convincingly. It takes too long to get up to speed, and there is too much dialogue but the last hour presents us with quite a compelling look at self-destruction in a man ill-equipped to deal with anything he hadn't already dealt with using his silver spoon and good looks. Whilst I didn't actually, I almost felt sorry for him at the end...
Cranialrock2025-09-06
★ 10/10
I cannot believe I haven't watched this before!! just WOW that was amazing