Review: Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

'Eyes Wide Shut' is to marriage (or just love relationships) what 'Saving Private Ryan' was to war. It is a film that will ultimately challenge you to be honest with yourself and allow yourself to relate to its characters. Which sadly, anyone who has ever been in love, can. It is just that we aren't honest about it to either our partners, ourselves, or both. While I do believe that all of us can identify with the leads in the film, I will admit that we may not all be as messed up with our thoughts, or actions, as they are in the film. Anyway, this film was damn good.

Stanley Kubrick is a master. His final film is as much a tribute to himself as it is an amazing gift to us before his passing. It is so completely beautiful that words are not near enough to describe. It is very rare for a director in the Hollywood game to be so careful, that you could take any still frame from the movie and it be a priceless photograph. Only two films in the last five years have been like that: 'Eyes Wide Shut', and 'The Thin Red Line.'

Anyway, about the film. Tom Cruise plays Dr. Bill Harford. A man with a good practice, a good family/marriage, and a good social life. We enter the life of him and his wife Alice (Nicole Kidman). We see them attend a well-to-do party and are both propositioned by the opposite sex. We see them both, perhaps by fate or perhaps by choice, decline their offers and happily go home. It is here where after a pot smoking session, that Alice reveals a secret of fantasy dream she had of a sailor she saw on one of their family vacations. Bill, confused on how to deal with it, is called away into what leads him into the New York night with a lot on his mind and a lot of temptation. I'll stop her with the plot as I tend to write spoiler free reviews. (For discussion, once you've seen the film, post in the forum so we can talk about the gritty).

Visually, the film is breath-taking. The film stock, the colors, the lighting, set decoration...all of it is incredible. The quality of production on this film is unmatched. Some people complain of the film's pacing, but not me. Kubrick builds and builds the thought provoking tension with splendid precision. While not exactly a thriller; this film plays like one on the emotions. While not all the answers are revealed in the end, the afterthoughts which occur once the credits roll fills in the rest as the mind interprets. Some may need multiple viewing to completely digest the film, but I do recommend seeing it quite a bit if not more than just for admiration. The cinematography in excellent. The screen is filled with some exceptional camera work. All the angles and the framing and the rotations and everything brings you into the subject matter. We are revealed to the human nature of ourselves that our characters find themselves in the story.

The screenplay was good. The dialogue was realistic, if not somewhat surrealistic. It worked so well for this film. The acting was great all around. The supporting cast was tremendous. Sydney Pollack, Marie Richardson, Vinessa Shaw. and Tony Field all gave incredible performances and all stood on their own next to Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. As for Tom and Nicole, they both gave the performances of their careers. I think that their acting was more 'honest' than it was great, but it still was perfection.

The best part of this film is what it presents, or rather challenges, the viewer. As I mentioned above, it reflects us as a society; at least to those of us who have or have been in serious relationships. It is that whole thing of 'we don't want to know, but we have to know' things about our significant others. While our own stories may not be on the level as the one in the movie, we have to deal with the fact that we are at the least, tempt-able people. It is scary for to think about what is on the minds of our partners and it is also scary what we ourselves are capable of thinking and/or doing when the opportunity presents itself.

There is one thing about the film that I loved the most, and it is something quite a few will completely overlook; it is that the two leads are not only realistic, but they are also pathetic. I'll explain, and these aren't plot points, but just minor observations. Because we as a society view ourselves in the threshold of mainstream liberal thinking, we might not get the fact that Kubrick is telling us that these things are bad, immoral, or whatever... We actually might even be the butt of his joke on these little things. First off, audiences may think it is cool and modern for us as viewers to see 'realistic' parents smoking weed together in a movie. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel that Kubrick is labeling them as, are you ready, LOSERS. Bad parents, plain and simple. This is just one instance, but most may not get the fact that Kubrick is sitting on a moral high horse. I say more power to him. Not to offend anyone, but this is actually a morally conservative film made with very liberal storytelling served as a device to show the contrast to what we find acceptable and what we should fine morally offensive. While some people in the audience were only there for the sex, and felt as if that cult shown in the orgy scene was something they would want to be apart of, married or not; well, they missed the boat.

Kubrick, in my opinion, is telling us that this is pathetic. He is saying, like in the film's conclusion, that we should overcome and survive our lusts and temptations. He is showing us that we are weak and dark creatures. He shows us that our thoughts and actions in relationships are depressing along with the jealousy that is surfaced from these things once they are revealed. I think it is all funny actually. This is what it is like, maybe not to the degree shown in the film, but to some extent we are all like these people whether we admit it or not. I am relieved that we all aren't as pathetic as the characters in the film, but it is joyfully disturbing that we can all at least somewhat identify with them. I may be wrong with what I think the film is saying, but that is how I interpreted it. Maybe we'll all grow if we learn Kubrick's lesson taught in 'Eyes Wide Shut.'

P.S. <SPOILER - Sweep across to read> Any movie that ends with someone saying f**k has to be good, right? Well, in my book it does...

	Running Time: 160 Min \| Rated R \| US Release: July 16th \| More >>

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