Movie Notes: Eyes Wide Shut
= 3 stars
Starring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sidney Pollock
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Synopsis
Physician Bill Hartford (Tom Cruise) and wife Alice (Nicole Kidman) attend a Christmas party, where some sexually charged events set Bill on a course of marital infidelity.
The Good
- Subtext: At the time Cruise and Kidman were actually married, which adds to their performances, with intimacy, chemistry, and betrayal so visually palatable. Second, Cruise’s involvement in Scientology feels appropriate as his character infiltrates a secret society performing bizarre rituals.
- The secret world of the super wealthy suggests the Rothchilds or some other super creepy echelon controlling the entire world. This secret society’s purpose and meaning is tantalizingly unexplained.
- Kubrick’s typically heavy-handed direction is more subdued.
- Despite being a wealthy doctor, Bill Hartford’s nighttime journey is an exercise in sexual frustration as he’s unable to get laid. It’s actually rather comical to see Cruise — the big movie star — in this odd situation.
- Subtle but interesting cinematography: contrasting reds and blues in the Hartford apartment, and green is reserved until film’s end.
- Wry humor — a newspaper headline reads “lucky to be alive” after a scary person walks by a “stop” sign, all set to a relentless, plinking piano theme alternating two notes.
The Bad
- Definitely too long.
- By the time Bill finally reveals his transgressions to Alice, the situation fizzles, due to awkward pacing and Cruise’s performance — he doesn’t get to scream and yell, a Cruise trademark.
- A bit sad that Kubrick’s last film contemplates marital infidelity and sexual obsession.
Conclusion
When Eyes Wide Shut first came out, it was controversial for its sexual content. Now, several years later, those concerns seem rather tame, and it’s worth another look. The sex is rather cold and sterile and definitely not as titillating, allowing one to concentrate more on the performances, symbolic meaning, and societal echelons we lose access to after a certain point in our life. An odd journey of a character who momentarily wanders out of their element.
IMDB: Eyes Wide Shut
Wikipedia: Eyes Wide Shut
Rotten Tomatoes: Eyes Wide Shut 78%
Definitely too long.
What? and A clockwordk Orange isn’t? LOL
This is no long enough as far as I’m concerned and I didn’t want it to end. I find it’s generally boring people who don’t like this film. It’s a masterpiece and his best film in my opinion.
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