Eyes Wide Shut (B or 3/4 stars)
A doctor becomes obsessed with having adulterous sex after his wife admits to having sexual fantasies with other men in 'Eyes Wide Shut', directed by legendary Stanley Kubrick. At an elegant Christmas party, 2 models hit on said doctor, Bill Harford (Tom Cruise). He watches a man try to pick up his drunk wife, Alice (Cruise's real life wife, Nicole Kidman). He helps revive a woman sprawled naked in a bathroom after an overdose ... and this is all upon us 1st meeting him! It is the next night in which Alice reveals her fantasies. This sets the stage for one crazy Hell of a night for Dr. Harford: a dead patient's daughter makes advances on him; while walking down the street, a gang of teen boys spat homophobic insults at him; a hooker takes him to her apartment; he watches men having sex with a young teenage girl (Leelee Sobieski); and his Odyssey ends when he walks into an underground orgy at a masquerade ball.
And after all of these harrowing & (sometimes) dangerous nighttime happenings ... he STILL can't get any. All he wanted was to substantiate his own sexuality, his own self-respect, even his own marriage (by acting on what his wife wanted, but didn't do). It was to be a night of sexual & moral discovery. But every possible sexual encounter comes up short for him. Hard to imagine that this one bizarre (and sometimes life threatening) night would stem from Alice's one sentiment: that had circumstances been only marginally different, she would have slept with a stranger, left her husband, & tossed away her privileged life (as a doctor's wife) ... ALL FOR A BIT OF PASSION. Fascinating stuff.
'EWS' may not be Kubrick's most striking film, but it still is thought-provoking & unsettling (at times). The idea of a husband going to such extreme, perverse, & life threatening lengths to prove his manhood is genius. Kubrick loves to show the unraveling one's psyche (think of Private Pyle in his Full Metal Jacket). Stylistically, the film is shot in a sort of surreal clarity. Meaning: everything happening is real, but some things are SO bizarre that you'd swear you were witnessing someone's dream/nightmare. We know this is Kubrick thanks to his typically long, uninterrupted camera shots, his discordant music (simple, but brilliant original score), & deliberate-ness. Every single thing we watch onscreen is what was intended; no ad-libbing. This is, perhaps, Kubrick's ultimate trademark.
Sex. Who's having it, who's not, & who's thinking about having it. Its use in this film is quite disturbing; dangerous even. In an early scene, sex interplays with drugs. Later on, sex almost takes place btwn. an unkowing man & a woman with Aids. And in the film's iconic sequence, Bill walks-in on a mysterious, ritualistic, gothic orgy in which some people are cloaked, some are in tuxedos, some are nude, & all of their faces are hidden behind masks. Not only do they not know each other, but the masks even prevent kissing. The conscious anonymity of it prevents any & all emotion. If they were to see each other, their lives 'could' be at stake (given a somewhat political subplot). Bill is faced with an awful realization in this scene ... sex would be meaningless with masked women, and it's meaningless with his wife. It's a personal, mental, physical, & emotional disaster.
Tom Cruise is very good as Bill Harford. He can't quite make us forget that we're watching Tom Cruise, but his scenes are executed with a subtle power. Nicole Kidman is excellent as the misanthropic Alice. She excels in the bedroom revelation scene near the beginning. I was entranced. And yet, the movie is not about the acting, but about a 'mood'; what we feel like while watching Bill & Alice have passionless sex in front of a mirror. What we would do in that underground sex party. What we would do if we were stalked through a silent, empty NY street at night? 'Eyes Wide Shut' is one of these pause-laden, ponderous films that will grab you most when you're in the aforementioned mood for it. It's not always fun, but it IS a quality film.
And after all of these harrowing & (sometimes) dangerous nighttime happenings ... he STILL can't get any. All he wanted was to substantiate his own sexuality, his own self-respect, even his own marriage (by acting on what his wife wanted, but didn't do). It was to be a night of sexual & moral discovery. But every possible sexual encounter comes up short for him. Hard to imagine that this one bizarre (and sometimes life threatening) night would stem from Alice's one sentiment: that had circumstances been only marginally different, she would have slept with a stranger, left her husband, & tossed away her privileged life (as a doctor's wife) ... ALL FOR A BIT OF PASSION. Fascinating stuff.
'EWS' may not be Kubrick's most striking film, but it still is thought-provoking & unsettling (at times). The idea of a husband going to such extreme, perverse, & life threatening lengths to prove his manhood is genius. Kubrick loves to show the unraveling one's psyche (think of Private Pyle in his Full Metal Jacket). Stylistically, the film is shot in a sort of surreal clarity. Meaning: everything happening is real, but some things are SO bizarre that you'd swear you were witnessing someone's dream/nightmare. We know this is Kubrick thanks to his typically long, uninterrupted camera shots, his discordant music (simple, but brilliant original score), & deliberate-ness. Every single thing we watch onscreen is what was intended; no ad-libbing. This is, perhaps, Kubrick's ultimate trademark.
Sex. Who's having it, who's not, & who's thinking about having it. Its use in this film is quite disturbing; dangerous even. In an early scene, sex interplays with drugs. Later on, sex almost takes place btwn. an unkowing man & a woman with Aids. And in the film's iconic sequence, Bill walks-in on a mysterious, ritualistic, gothic orgy in which some people are cloaked, some are in tuxedos, some are nude, & all of their faces are hidden behind masks. Not only do they not know each other, but the masks even prevent kissing. The conscious anonymity of it prevents any & all emotion. If they were to see each other, their lives 'could' be at stake (given a somewhat political subplot). Bill is faced with an awful realization in this scene ... sex would be meaningless with masked women, and it's meaningless with his wife. It's a personal, mental, physical, & emotional disaster.
Tom Cruise is very good as Bill Harford. He can't quite make us forget that we're watching Tom Cruise, but his scenes are executed with a subtle power. Nicole Kidman is excellent as the misanthropic Alice. She excels in the bedroom revelation scene near the beginning. I was entranced. And yet, the movie is not about the acting, but about a 'mood'; what we feel like while watching Bill & Alice have passionless sex in front of a mirror. What we would do in that underground sex party. What we would do if we were stalked through a silent, empty NY street at night? 'Eyes Wide Shut' is one of these pause-laden, ponderous films that will grab you most when you're in the aforementioned mood for it. It's not always fun, but it IS a quality film.