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I need some help with Vanilla Sky..

post #1 of 15
6/11/02 at 1:46am
Thread Starter 
Just watched it tonight and I really liked it but there are some things I do not understand...

SPOILERS BELOW!!!!!!!!!
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-Did David wake up to his old life at the end? Or did he go back to the dream he had?
-Did Cameron Diaz die in the car accident?

Basically, any questions I have were probably answered in the thread that came when the movie was out in theatres, so a link to that thread would be greatly appreciated..
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post #2 of 15
6/11/02 at 2:17am
The elevator guy who explained every single little point of the movie so it was shoved down your throat and left no room for anybody to think wasn't enough?

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post #3 of 15
6/11/02 at 2:50am
My problem with Vanilla Sky?

I have no sympathy for any man who bitches about his life who has Cameron Diaz as a "fuck buddy..."
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post #4 of 15
6/11/02 at 3:58am
Thread Starter 
Thank you Wiskerando for accepting my stupidity and just answering my questions.. To Tony, the film's last 20 minutes became alittle hard for me to follow, with the cryogenic freezing and all..Did anyone else find the ending alittle too strange?
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post #5 of 15
6/11/02 at 4:09am
Make up your own mind about the ending, I'm happy you can do it because Crowe took that away for most viewers.
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post #6 of 15
6/11/02 at 4:30am
Yes, my one real problem with Vanilla Sky was the painstakingly telegraphed ending. I mean he really, really did a lot of exposition in that elevator. It didnt get so bad that it was insulting, but close.
Although parts like that have ruined movies for me before, this one didnt and I still love the movie, more than the original actually (sue me and take away 2000 geek points).

Funny note though, a few people I know still didnt get it (I think they just weren't paying attention), and some said that they wouldnt have gotten it AT ALL without the amount of info given in the elevator scene. Movie geek vs. Joe Six-pack I guess.

Can you imagine waking 800 years in the future? Ouch.

Oh and I like how at the end he still sadly says good-bye to Penelope Cruz and that he loves her even though the women he comes to know isnt even real...
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post #7 of 15
6/11/02 at 6:49am
What I took from it was, every time the movie starts it's his chance to set things straight again.

I IMMEDIATELY thought of 12 Monkeys.

But he can fix it, Bruce Willis can't.....
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post #8 of 15
6/11/02 at 7:08am
There are actually three legitimate takes on the ending:

a) The elevator guy was telling the truth, Crusie was cruogenically frozen 150 years before and was inside an artificial world.

b) It was all a dream and in the end he wakes up. Remember that we know from the beginning of the movie that he frequently has nightmares, was having a fever and was insecure about himself, knowing that the only reasons he was popular were his good looks and his money. His subconscious combines these and creates a nightmare in which he loses both. The cryo-sleep bit comes from the news reports on the frozen dog. Thus, nothing that happened in the movie after the first twn minutes was real.

c) It was all a nightmare he had while in a coma after Diaz crashes the car. In the end, he wakes up in hospital.

Take your pick.

c)
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post #9 of 15
6/11/02 at 11:38am
Crowe also mentioned a 4th option on the commentary that I found intriguing:

d) A portion or all of the movie is a novel that Jason Lee's character is writing in which a representation of his friend, a wealthy playboy who doesn't know how good he has it, gets his comeuppance.

By the way, I, too, have met people who didn't understand the ending, despite what some consider overexplanation. I consider the revelation a plot point that merely reinforces the themes of consumer culture, etc. The themes take precedent over the mystery at this point in the film, and I think that's one advantage it has over Open Your Eyes, which is exclusively plot-driven. With that movie, the question is "what's happening?" With VS, there are several questions, chiefly "Why is it happening?" and "How should the main character deal with it?"

And, Django -

I don't think Cruise's character was really bitching much at the beginning of the movie. That started only after Diaz was dead, and he became disfigured.
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post #10 of 15
6/11/02 at 3:27pm
Quote:
AndYouWillKnowUs bytheTrailof DaveB:
By the way, I, too, have met people who didn't understand the ending, despite what some consider overexplanation. I consider the revelation a plot point that merely reinforces the themes of consumer culture, etc. The themes take precedent over the mystery at this point in the film, and I think that's one advantage it has over Open Your Eyes, which is exclusively plot-driven. With that movie, the question is "what's happening?" With VS, there are several questions, chiefly "Why is it happening?" and "How should the main character deal with it?"
The only thing I have to say is that I agree with Dave completely on this. About the explaination being a plot point reinforcing theme rather than something else. It doesn't seem to me that the film could progress any further without that elevator revelation. Cruise and the audience had to understand what leads up to the coming choice about whether he'll jump off the ledge of or not. To "awaken" or not.
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post #11 of 15
6/11/02 at 10:45pm
Thread Starter 
Another question whose answer I may have missed: How the hell does Cruise end up in the confession room with Russell? I realize Russell is not real, but then how does he get inside the room if he really didn't kill anyone? I'm sorry if this is a dumb question but I was very tired while watching it last night.. After I watch it again tonight, I will come back and probably be able to answer my own questions.
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post #12 of 15
6/11/02 at 10:48pm
In his dream world, he did kill Sophia (only, not really, as she was just part of his dream at that point) which was why he was arrested and being interviewed in connection with her murder.
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post #13 of 15
6/12/02 at 12:41am
Shouldn't this be in the "Films in Release or on Video" Forum. Blofeld, do your job!
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post #14 of 15
6/12/02 at 12:49am
Quote:
Nick Hexum:
Did anyone else find the ending a little too strange?
I did. I watched it the other night and actually enjoyed more than I thought I would. Anyway, I was sleepy towards the end and dozed off for about 3-4 minutes, which just happened to be the most important part of the film. I went back and looked at it and my cousin explained some of the finer details of the whole confusing mess.
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post #15 of 15
6/12/02 at 1:55am
Transferred here because I got a call on my Shill Hotline, and DAMMIT, Diva is right!
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