MINUTES JUNE 25, 2002

VANILLA SKY

We began the class with the professor introducing the film Vanilla Sky.  We need to look at two reviews for the movie.  Our exam is on Thursday and we can hand in our final paper on June 27.  We will be watching Vanilla Sky  the entire class period.  The film is a remake of Open Your Eyes. 

The film stares Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.  The film takes place in New York City.  She is a friend , but they happen to sleep with each other.  His parents have passed away and left him  control of a large company.  There are a few board members, who do not care for him.  He meets someone else  and his past romance turns sour.  He is picked up outside and given a ride by Julie.  She is upset at him and they get in a car crash.  This is when the movie starts to blur.  His face is destroyed and his arm is damaged.  Next, we are taken into a dark prison.  He is going through his dreams.  Has there been a conspiracy against him?  He has two women Julie and Sophia.  In each scene you do not know what is real and what is in his mind.   He gets some radical surgery and his face is finally fixed.  Sophia peels the old face away and his new perfect face is revealed.  He awakes and goes to the mirror,  his face is terrible and Sophia starts to scream.  He jumps out of bed, but he is now with Julie.  He ties up Julie or has he tied up Sophia.  He is getting booked at the prison, but he is let go.  Is the board really trying to destroy him, or is it all in his mind.  We flash to a bar and he sees a man that he has met before.  He has hired this man and found him on the Internet.  He later finds himself making love to Sophia and later she becomes Julie.  He kills her as many images disturb his mind.  We are again at the prison as his psychiatrist talks to him.  He leaves and Benny the dog appears on the screen.  This jars his memory.  They both go to the life extension Institute.  Has a living dream destroyed his mind and became a nightmare.  Has he signed a contract with this organization?  He wants to wake up.  He calls for Tech support and they appear.  They first met  150 years ago.  He has bought a dream.  The dream started at the night club, when he woke up in the street.  He walks away and never sees Sophia again.  In the dream he is already dead, but he is making up his reality.  He is put into a frozen state and starts his dream.  His dreams turn on him and create a nightmare.  He has a choice to make and he decides to jump.  He wants to live in the real world, not in his dreams anymore.  He wants to open his eyes. 

The film really makes you think about what is reality and what is not.  As you are watching the film, it is sometimes difficult to understand where you are going.