Wrapping My Head Around "Vanilla Sky"

For those of you who don't know, a little background:

I first saw Vanilla Sky roughly 3 years ago when it first came out on DVD. I had never seen the movie before I bought it, and it was basically an impulse buy. I had heard many comments on the movie prior to purchasing it, and they all weighed heavily on the Balance of Judgment that exists within my mind. Apparently, people either loved or hated the movie. When this is the case, I've found, my sentiments closely resemble the former. Vanilla Sky was no exception to the rule, as my first viewing left me in a universe of pondering and conclusion-drawing that I hadn't experienced in some time.

And now, a brief summary (from imdb.com) of the movie to perhaps give you an idea of what I'm working with (If you've seen the movie, ignore the next paragraph):

"During the week he turns 33, NYC magazine publisher David Aames, a playboy who has strange dreams, spends a night of passion with Julie, "a friend he sometimes sleeps with," and a night with Sofia, a witty, knowing dancer with a Spanish accent - a night with intimations of love. David is charming, rich (his mother's Monet, "Vanilla Sky" is in his bedroom), and feckless: he inherited the magazines and his minority partners want him out. Jump ahead: he's in jail, wearing a prosthetic mask, talking to a sympathetic psychologist to get at the truth behind a death. Who has died? How? And who's Ellie? Popping up often on TV is Benny, a dog who survived for months frozen in ice."

Now, while that is a "teaser" of sorts, I will practically give the story-line away with the rest of this post. So, if you've not seen the movie and/or you'd rather draw your own conclusions from the ending, please stop reading...or don't.

As Vanilla Sky comes to a close, and David has leapt from the building after (apparently) making his final decision, I'm STILL clogged with thoughts of "what about this..." and "maybe he just...." However, tonight's viewing (the first in almost a year) has shed quite a bit of light on the matter. While questions remain, I feel my conclusion is sound.

When Aames was standing atop the building with Sofia, you can sense that they are sharing a moment. Before, I interpreted this moment to be one of lovers reunited (remember, he thought he had killed her). I now see what this moment really is. It's a time for them to find closure. David knows he can no longer be with Sofia in reality, so he would rather cease this masturbation of mortality and, in is own words, "live a normal life." You can think of this as a happy or sad ending based on your views of romance. Personally, it is love in it's purest form. While David is fully aware that he could continue on with his lucid dream and lead a glorious "life" with Sofia, he is much more content knowing there were once exchanges of true love, and those can never be replicated by any means. Keeping in mind that it is 150 years in the future, and Sofia is long since dead, David is left with a choice. To perpetually dream about being with Sofia, or to wake up and live a life with the beautiful memories of a story-book love. While my personal convictions do come into play while drawing my conclusions, I feel it impossible to fathom this movie ending any other way. David accepts reality, and dares not disturb the memories by continuing the charade. Leaping from the building, David is set free from the stranglehold of the lucid dream, and awakens to his new life.

Prior to tonight, I had other thoughts concerning the outcome of David's liberation.

One ending left David in bed having only dreamt of the murder case, and tech support. We all know dreams can get pretty crazy, so why not THAT crazy.

The other ending comes as a result of David wanting to start anew. Everything goes right back to the beginning of the movie so he can have a fresh start. Perhaps the least favorable of my assumptions, but it has remained a strong player since I first saw Vanilla Sky.


All in all, Vanilla Sky has definitely proven itself to be a catalyst for introspection on numerous occasions. Though I have seen it many times, I am still forced to contemplate life on many levels after viewing it. This time, the question, and possible answers of "How real is reality?" have been thrown around my head like a ragdoll of the selfish. Each thought leads to a dead-end which, in turn, forces me to re-think my entire system of analysis.

Row, row, row, your boat
gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily.
Life is but a dream.