Vanilla Sky - Andrew Strasburg

Quotes

The text following the quotations gives the context in which they were given and/or talks about their importance. Some quotations have been included without text simply for their entertainment value.

David and Sofia:

“Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.” – Sofia speaking to David after he has confessed he is unhappy with his life.

“Open your eyes.” – Sofia. Perhaps the most well know quotation from the film, it regards the constant blurring of dream and reality. Ultimately it relates to David’s awakening from his lucid dream to live a real life in the end.

“Good things will happen if you are a good person with a good attitude.” – Sofia advising David.

“It must be difficult controlling all those people’s lives. Everyone at that party is connected to you for survival in some way.” – Sofia giving David a new outlook on his job.

"That smile is gonna be the end of me.” – David to Sofia

“I will see you in another life when we are both cats.” – Sofia

“It’s the greatest show, it’s called Sofia.” – David

“Thank you for the inspiration. I will now attempt to run my company showing compassion for the seething throng of my partners who root quietly for me to fail. And for things you don’t even know, thank you.”
– David just before leaving Sofia’s apartment on their night together.

“Your eyes apologize better.”
– Sofia at the beginning of David’s lucid dream. David is apologizing for being rude the night before at the dance club.

“Look at us – I’m frozen and you’re dead; and I love you.”
– David to Sofia before he leaves her in his lucid dream.

“You hardly knew her in your real life but in your lucid dream she was your savior.”
– Life Extension tech support speaking to David about what happened with he and Sofia in reality.

"Life Extension":

“This is a revolution of the mind.” – Rebecca Dearborn speaking to David about "Life Extension."

“Most of us live our whole lives... without any real adventure to call our own.”
– Rebecca Dearborn promoting "Life Extension" to David

“What is any life without the pursuit of a dream?”
- Rebecca Dearborn questioning David while giving a presentation on “Life Extension”.

“Life is full of surprises but the greatest surprise of all is that this doesn’t have to end.”
– Life Extension Founder in an advertisement for Life Extension.

“They laughed at Jules Verne too.” – "Life Extension" Director Rebecca Dearborn alluding to Jules Verne’s pioneering of the science fiction genre of literature. Thus a connection is made between science fiction and the "Life Extension" technology.

Julie - Sex is a promise:

“Don't you know that when you sleep with someone, your body makes a promise whether you do or not.”
– Julie during her confrontation of David before committing suicide. This quotation refers to a type of love examined in the film.

“Four times... it means something, David. “– Julie to David during their confrontation in the car.

“You just never seem to be there for your friends until they’ve all ready given up on you.”
– Julie venting to David before she drives the car off a bridge.

Thomas Tipp - Advice from an old friend:

"...maybe you should let people see you, yeah? I mean, the last time we were together, you were, you were, you were in a coma, and you were very fucking rude to me. You didn't say a word.” – Thomas Tipp

“But I say this with complete love. Claim your life. Learn to be an asshole. Don't...” – Thomas Tipp
“Two's enough.” - David
“Forgive me. But I still believe in this family, David, even if it's only you.” - Thomas Tipp advising David while drunk at David’s birthday party.

David and Brian - Lifelong friends:

“You're not blind. You're drinking Jack Daniels, and when you drink Jack, you start in with that... Frank Sinatra, she shot me down, give me a cigarette, "King of Sad" thing.” - David
“That I do. Give me a cigarette.” - Brian

“Happy birthday David and all the usual shit people say to each other.” – Brian

“I have ceased to exist.” – Brian when he is ignored by David and Sofia during their first meeting. This line conveys Brian's frustration with standing in David's shadow.

“You stole her from me – the one girl I really waned and you took her from me.”
– Brian confessing his true feelings about Sofia to David.

“You’re paying me to write my novel so technically you own me.”
– Brian revealing his feeling that he is indebted to David.

“If she fucks up our friendship she can go to hell. We…are bros.” – Brian talking to David about Sofia.

“You will never know the exquisite pain of the guy who goes home alone. Because without the bitter baby, the sweet ain’t as sweet.” – Brian. This line is repeated throughout the movie and implies that despite the fact that David is able to obtain what he wants easily, it will not necessarily bring him happiness.

“You are in good hands. I’m just humoring myself that my opinion matters.”
– Brian speaking to David in Sofia while they are meeting for the first time.

“He just met you a few hours before me, he’d do the same.” – David
“I see that friendship is important to you.” – Sofia
David is attempting to convince Sofia not to worry about Brian’s affections for her. It shows that David is willing to put his own interests ahead of his friendship with Brian.

“Call me sometime instead of hiding out in your apartment. I miss the old you. We all miss the old you.”
– Brian to David when he sees David for the fist time after the accident.

Digging deeper into the mind of David:

“Doc, once you've been driven off a bridge at 80 miles an hour, somehow you don't invite happiness in without a full body search.” – David describing the psychological effects of the accident.

“With all the possible respect I can offer a man wearing a latex mask and spouting conspiracy theories, David, believe me, you've crossed that bridge.” - Dr. Curtis McCabe speaking to David during their session.

“My father wrote about this in his book. Chapter 1... Page 1... Paragraph 1: What is the answer to 99 out of 100 questions?... Money.”- David

“I was about to turn 33. I ran three magazines and a world wide publishing house. Now most days I actually fooled myself into believing it would last forever. Isn’t that what being young is about? Believing secretly that you would be the one person in the history of man that would live forever?” – David describing his life at the onset of the film.

“David, opinions are expected.” – Office Worker. This line early on in the film helps to characterize David as one who has trouble taking his job seriously.

“I used to snowboard through my life without any focus whatsoever.” – David
“When did you change?” – Sofia
“About five minutes ago.” – David This quotation shows David's attitude regarding his responsibilities.

“Believe it or not I care about you. You’ve become like family to me.” – Dr. McCabe to David at the end of their session. This line conveys one aspect of love, an important theme in the film; it also shows how David has used Dr. McCabe as a substitute for his father..

David after the accident:

“My dreams were a cruel joke. They taunt me. Even in my dreams I’m an idiot who knows he’s about to wake up to reality.” – David describing the nightmares he has after the accident; also an allusion to David living in a lucid dream.

“I try to tell myself what to dream…it never works.”
– David on the nightmares he has after the accident. This is especially ironic because David is actually in a lucid dream, in which by definition, he should be able to dictate what he dreams.

“You can’t feel the darkness of numbness; you can’t even feel. And then I came back to life, just like Benny the dog.” – David talking about his coma after the accident.

“Who could I trust? The ants were taking over the anthill.”
– David speaking about the board of directors attempting to gain control of the company while he was recovering from his accident.

“These are more than headaches; these are steal plates slicing through my every thought.”
– David speaking to the doctors about the headaches he experiences after his accident.

“Oh no, it’s great. This completely takes care of Halloween, but what about the other 364 days of the year?” – David speaking to doctors about the" facial prosthetic" or mask they suggest he wear to cover the scars on his face.

“A new form in me began to take shape. I planned my re-emergence like the Normandy invasion…on December 5^th my planes filled the sky. The return of David Aams Jr., Citizen Dildo.”
– David on his recovery from the accident.

“I can’t even tell you what they did. It seemed like science fiction to me.” – David alluding to the improbability of finding a cure for his condition. To an observant viewer, this is one indication of when David’s lucid dream starts.

“If you’re embarrassed just go. No one asked you to chaperone.”
– David to Brian on his first date with Sofia after the accident. David does not realize that Sofia has asked Brian to come along because she feels uncomfortable around David.

In a Dream:

“You are their god. You can make them obey you or destroy you.”
– Life Extension Tech Support explaining to David his power to control his lucid dream.

“Can you tell me the difference between dreams and reality?”
– Dr. McCabe bringing up the dream vs. reality theme when questioning David.

“I don’t feel like I killed someone. I feel like I’m in a dream.”
– David to McCabe when being questioned about his supposed murder.

David's coming of age:

“It’s the little things, there’s nothing bigger is there?” – David at the end of the film showing his coming of age.

“It’s been a brilliant journey of self-awakening and now you simply have you ask yourself this, what is happiness to you David? – Life Extension tech support referring back to previously established themes.

I wanna live a real life; I don’t want to dream anymore.”
– David finally realizing what is important to him in life. He discovers that he wants to live in a real world, even if it means things don't always go as planned.