Vanilla Sky
Overview
David Aames has the kind of life most people only daydream about — money, a Manhattan publishing empire he inherited, a penthouse, and Penélope Cruz's Sofia falling for him at his own birthday party. The problem is Julie, played by Cameron Diaz in arguably the best performance of her career: a "friend" who can't accept that David doesn't love her back. One reckless car ride changes everything, leaving David's face destroyed and his perfect life in pieces. Then things get stranger. Sofia seems to come back to him. Julie appears where she shouldn't. David's reality keeps glitching like a scratched disc, and a psychiatrist played by Kurt Russell is left trying to untangle what's real from inside a jail cell, where David sits accused of murder. Cameron Crowe remade Alejandro Amenábar's Spanish thriller Open Your Eyes and gave it a glossy, dream-logic sheen, with Tom Cruise doing some of his most vulnerable work behind a mask he can't bear to remove. Some people find the ending brilliant; others walked out arguing. Either way, that empty Times Square opening and the question hanging over every scene will stay with you.
