MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Mystery Psychological Drama/Stars: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack, Todd Field, Marie Richardson, Sky du Mont, Rade Šerbedžija, Thomas Gibson, Vinessa Shaw, Fay Masterson, Alan Cumming, Leelee Sobieski, Leon Vitali, Julienne Davis, Madison Eginton, Abigail Good, Gary Goba/Runtime: 159 minutes

I think it is safe to open up this review dear reader by presenting you with a rather common argument to be found in the halls of cinematic lore. That being that, aside from the movies he made up to (and including) 1960’s Spartacus, every slice of cinema helmed by film icon Stanley Kubrick after that point was never quite able to fully resonate with either critics or the general movie going public all at once. Instead, each of his films in that category be they Barry Lyndon or even Full Metal Jacket were all looked at with a degree of skepticism followed up by a solid debate period of about 10 years give or take before then being lauded as masterpieces that all of cinema should aspire to be more like. To that end, this brings us to the slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today, 1999’s Eyes Wide Shut, and I think it is about time that people who, when the film first came out back in July of 1999, might have overlooked it at best or worst thought it a dismal end to a truly epic filmography to give this film a second look. I say this because what a lot of those responses completely failed at grasping, as they also did with a lot of Kubrick’s filmography, is that this slice of cinema is not one that is meant to be pigeonholed into either a select genre or in a singular way of viewing it. Instead, this is a film that requires the viewer to independently analyze and subsequently come up with their own interpretation of what they have just witnessed. Yes, you could say that Kubrick’s single greatest flaw was that he was willing to put his faith in the audience to find those answers for themselves when the truth is that most people want the answers given to them, but to me dear reader that for me was perhaps one of this legend’s greatest strengths. Suffice it to say that yes it might have some issues here and there, but with the aid of potent work on both sides of the camera I think it can safely be argued that whilst yes Eyes Wide Shut is funny, riveting, nightmarish, and quite hard to watch at times, but it’s also something else. That being no more or less than a fitting final film from one of the most iconic filmmakers to ever grace the medium of cinema with his presence.

The plot is as follows: An adaptation of a 1926 novella named Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler that moves the plot from the locale of Vienna in the early 20th century to New York City in the 90s, Eyes Wide Shut tells the story of a seemingly pitch perfect young doctor named Bill Harford and his beautiful wife Alice. A couple that, among other attributes, are members of the upper middle class and who reside comfortably in a nice apartment near Central Park with their young daughter Helena. As our story gets underway, we see that it is the holidays and, much as has occurred for a few years prior to the start of our tale, we see that the couple have been invited to a yearly and quite glamorous Christmas dance by a well to do patient of Bill’s named Victor Ziegler. We soon see that, in large part to things they both go through individually whilst attending this party, this leads to our hero and his wife having a very open and honest conversation with each other. One that sees the two not only discuss their intimate life, the idea of faithfulness, and any intimate fantasies each has had at one time or another with particular regard to if their individual fantasies have at any time incorporated other people in the mix. It is due to this conversation incidentally that we see our boy wonder start to open his eyes more to intimate encounters that aren’t exactly ones that you find in the framework of matrimony if you get my drift. Yet despite coming close to acting on several intriguing options, it isn’t until he hears about one from a former cohort in med school by the name of Nick Nightingale that we see Bill’s interest manage to be fully captured. An interest that only manages to dramatically rise due in large part to Nick all but begging him to not look into what he is going to tell him any further beyond their initial conversation. Upon further prodding, we soon learn that this opportunity is a yearly and clandestine costume party where Nick, who after leaving med school has become a fairly skilled musician, is engaged to play his instrument with a blindfold over his eyes and the location for which is only provided about an hour before he is due to be there. It should come as no surprise though to learn that Bill is able to sneak into this party and what he sees manages to be even wilder than he could ever have possibly imagined. Yet when we, along with Bill, learn that what occurred could potentially have quite the permanent impact on our hero’s marriage, how intimate he is able to be with his wife, and just their lives period we see that the stage has been set. Not just for an analysis on how far one will go for carnal pleasure, but also a complicated look at how tested the bond of matrimony truly can be under some very unusual circumstances….

Now right off the bat, it should be said that in terms of the work done behind the camera on this slice of cinema it is all well done in every sense of the word. This starts with the fact that this is a genuinely beautiful film to lock your eyes on. Indeed, say what you will about the narrative, but from the costumes to the sets and even the cinematography there is no denying that this slice of cinema is right on point with Kubrick’s skill for molding and bringing to life a world to place the audience into. With that in mind, there are at least a pair of truly lovely tracking shots that come to mind that best showcase the master at work. The first is where we traverse with the good doc as he makes his way though Zegler’s Christmas party and we see all the rooms lit in a gorgeous or in a mixed multicolored blur of sorts. Whilst this is all going on though, we see that Kubrick also does a grand job of letting the camera be just as all over as Harford is as he makes his way through a party that feels like it’s more in a dream rather than in any kind of objective reality. By the same token, we see that when our hero makes his way to the “other party” as I will call it here Kubrick transitions over to copious amounts of shadows thus showing us just enough to get the point across. We also see that as Dr. Harford makes his way through this topsy-turvy deviant landscape, the camera has managed to transition to moving with a sense of motivation whilst the colors on display are now significantly more neutral with moments of visceral degrees of black and red thus giving us the impression that we have transitioned from the pleasant dream into no less than a waking nightmare. It should also be noted that whilst this slice of cinema is in a lot of aspects the most dialogue-heavy movie that Kubrick ever made, the dialogue is also very much lacking in terms of either banter or fanfare. Yet, rather than detract from the film in any meaningful way, I think that these omissions only ensure that what we are given is what Kubrick wanted us to have. That being a film containing simplistic yet brusque dialogue that helped to showcase this film’s chilling devotion to ambiguity. Finally, it should be noted that the work behind the camera on this film may be aware of people’s desires on a number of levels for potent fantasy, but it also takes the time to honor how there is also a deep-seated fondness for those acts when there is an actual emotional motive to them. As a result, yes we are treated to thematic concepts involving masks and eyes being open or closed, but we also find ourselves being made recipients of a sponsorship for strengthening your marital bond with your spouse as well. Suffice it to say then that, in terms of the work done behind the camera, Eyes Wide Shut might be as vibrantly odd yet engaging of a cinematic voyage as Kubrick took audiences on, but it also manages to be unnervingly familiar as well.

Of course, in a weird way I also think that it was those previously mentioned concepts that might have been at the heart of Kubrick making the creative choice to have an, at that time, genuinely married couple of Hollywood icons play the couple at the heart of this film. At the same time though, I don’t think it will be really all that surprising to learn that this creative choice was one that managed to pay off beautifully. That’s because through the act of bringing the shine of their star power down via his trademark of going through numerous takes we see that Kubrick was able to get a pair of truly magnetic performances from the dynamic duo at the heart of this film. This starts with Tom Cruise and as much as I admire the guy as an action cinema icon, I would be totally amiss if I didn’t also bring to attention his merits as a dramatic actor as well. Indeed I have no doubt in my mind that this was perhaps, from an acting standpoint, one of the most tasking roles he has ever had to take on in his career which makes the fact that he does really good work here a genuine praiseworthy achievement in its own right. Yes, there are some moments where I must confess that I had a hard time believing that this guy was a genuine member of the medical community, but Cruise’s handle on the more emotional aspects of the character to say nothing of his slow yet tumultuous descent into this deviant abyss to say nothing of petty fixation more than make up for that. Yes this is a very difficult main character to really like due in large part to the fact that he is quite petty when you stop to think about it, but Cruise manages to make him a man worth following on this rather unique journey. As fantastic as Cruise is however, the work done by Nicole Kidman here especially when it comes to her execution of a collection of lengthy and emotionally draining monologues is genuinely next-level here. Indeed she might not be in the movie as much as Cruise is, but Kidman does a wonderful job here at making her character seem less like a uptown snob and more like a genuine human being that, in a particularly potent moment, showcases her torn to shreds humanity in a moment that will leave you as floored as Cruise’s character is in that moment. Suffice it to say that it is a truly revelatory performance from an actress who has made a career, more or less, out of bringing her best to every film she has been a part of. Suffice it to say that when you also thrown into the mix a group of top-tier support talent ranging from a wonderfully sleazy Sydney Pollack as Victor Ziegler, a genuinely funny Alan Cumming as a hotel desk clerk who makes a move on Bill (among others), Todd Field who is brilliant as Bill’s old med-school classmate Nick, and an early turn from Thomas Gibson before he became unit chief of the BAU in Criminal Minds among others, it’s clear that this slice of cinema might have its issues, but its cast in front of the camera do their best to make up for those in a big way.

All in all and at the end of the day, is Eyes Wide Shut a perfect slice of cinema? Honestly no. Not even close. At the same time though, is this the colossal dud that the vast majority of the movie going public most likely took it as when it first came out 24 years ago as of this writing? Truthfully, I wouldn’t say that either dear reader. If anything, I would be more likely to hedge my bets and say that, based on precedent, this slice of cinema is one that, the more time goes by, will sooner or later do what all of Kubrick’s post 1960 slices of cinema did and eventually acquire the respect and appreciation it so rightfully deserved in the first place. With that in mind though, I definitely want to make it clear that this is by no means a slice of cinema that is going to be everyone’s cup of tea as it were. Yes the work done behind the camera is very much as on point as it was at any time during Kubrick’s extraordinary career. Along with that, there is also no denying that Kubrick was also able to get a pair of downright magnetic performances out of his 2 lead performers as well as a collection of more than capable support work from a game cast of supporting players respectively. Having said that, this is also an oddly clinical in some ways film that, in the midst of dealing with the very adult concepts of carnal urges as well as fixation among others, is one that ever so slowly begins to make its way into your mind and once there manages to place you under a rather bewitching spell. One that, besides NOT being called Avada Kedavra, is also sure to unnerve more than a few of you who decide to at the very least try to sit down and give this film a chance. Should you be able to accept that and are ok with being subjected to that then definitely give this film a chance and if you haven’t seen it in a solid minute then come on back and give it another go. Sure it might have its flaws, but at the end of the day Eyes Wide Shut is still a final triumph from one of the more distinct master film helmers of all time that is most assuredly worth the time. Not just to analyze and dissect, but to immerse yourself in and be blown away by what you see unfold before you time and time again. Make of that what thou will. On a scale of 1-5 I give Eyes Wide Shut “99” a solid 4 out of 5.