Eyes Wide Shut Review
by "Alex Ioshpe" (ioshpe AT online DOT no)September 20th, 1999
RATING: 10/10 - ALTERNATIVE RATING: A
After 12 years, Stanley Kubrick finally directed his last feature, dieing right after the production was completed. He never got the chance to witness the audience react to one of his greatest achievements.
Only "The Phantom Menace" shared the controversy and the anticipation of Kubrick's return to the big screen. But when some Star Wars-fans can (and probably will ) be a bit disappointed by Lucas' new fantasy, Kubrick-supporters will recieve everything they have been waiting and hoping for.
So far the greatest achievement of the year, his latest, and final, triumph is a Kubrick picture in every sense of the word. It is beautiful, sensual, at times creepy, gothic and mystifying. It leaves the viewer with a lasting impression. At once downbeat and intellectually-draining, the unforgettable characters that make you dive into the world of "Eyes Wide Shut". It is more tender, sensual and human, than in any of Kubrick's previous films. Set during the week before Christmas in New York City, Dr. Bill Harford (Tom Cruise) and his wife, Alice (Nicole Kidman), live in a large Central Park West apartment with their 7-year-old daughter, Helena (Madison Eginton). Happily married, when Bill and Alice make their way to a ritzy holiday party given by their friend, Victor Ziegler (Sydney Pollack), they find themselves both having to turn down members of the opposite sex that make sexual advances toward them. The next night, Alice finds herself confessing to Bill that in the previous summer, she briefly met a devastatingly handsome naval officer."..That afternoon you and I made love and talked about our future, and our child...Just the sight of him [naval officer] stirred me deeply and I thought if he wanted me, I could not have resisted. I thought I was ready to give up you, the child, my whole future...And yet at the same time - if you can understand it - you were dearer to me than ever, and I stroked your forehead and kissed your hair, and at that moment my love for you was both tender and sad.."
This sudden and unexpected revelation shatters the stability in Bill's everyday life, moving him farther and farther away from his everyday existence into a completely different world. He leaves home to visit a patient, but instead of coming back, he wanders the streets of New York. A series of mysterious chance encounters leads him on an unexpected path of discovery into a bizarre sexual underworld, where the rich and famous have their sex games. What happens next depend on the path he chooses.
Kubrick doesn't hurry. At the same time, the characters discover more about each other during these 24 hours--their dreams, feelings, and fears--than they ever thought they would in a lifetime. And when the film ends, and a new day is slowly emerging, you still don't know whether it was real or only a dream. Kubrick is very much like Dante. He slowly guides us through Hell, and brings us back at the end, giving us a chance for a fresh start.
"Eyes Wide Shut" is in many ways a perfect film. It is beautifully directed. Every shot, every move, every camera angle and every cut has been wisely selected with great care and professionalism. Both the cinematography and editing as well as the beautiful art direction are award worthy. The acting is flawless and every charecter has its place. Nicole Kidman has been granted surprisingly little time, at the same time her charecter is the heart of the movie. Kidman is nothing less than wonderful. Cruise really caries the film on his shoulders, the evolution of his charecter is incredibly essensial for the picture. This is probably his most mature and serious part and he is incredible - greater and more powerful than ever. The music does not bare the mark of a genius, but is incredibly effective, giving the film a feel of terrifying horror, reminding about Hichock and Carpenter's "Halloween".
The film created a lot of controversy concerning sex. First I want to point out that Kubrick's portrayal of sex is graphical, but never pornographic. The beautiful castle in the woods, the mediaeval costumes, masks and frightening choir create a creepy, gothic effect. All the couples are masked. They can not kiss or see eacthother's faces, and for most part they do not speak. Sex is here pictured as cold and retualistic - more disturbing than erotic, partly because of an underlying danger that is always present.
"Eyes Wide Shut" is by no means an easy movie. It’s a ruminative, heavily textured drama explicitly designed, right down to the way it is lit, to provoke thought and debate. It is about the terrible suspicions that creep into our minds when we learn that the great love of our life may not be as utterly trustworthy as we had imagined. It's about modern society and moralizm, sex and family. But mostly it's about a theme that has been present in almost every of Kubrick's previous films: dehumanization of society.
It is strange that right before his death, Kubrick directed the most human, and sensual film in his legendary and rewarding career.
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