Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
The legendary director, Stanley Kubrick's, last movie Eyes Wide Shut is certainly not an easy film to watch. For one, it's incredibly abstract and plays akin to a dream. It is also very controversial with both men and women disliking the consensus of their portrayals. Despite this, I do think it is worth watching as it is layered with so many hidden meanings with some indicating a secret society, not unlike The Illuminati. The plot runs as follows: After Dr. Bill Hartford's (Tom Cruise) wife, Alice (Nicole Kidman), admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Kubrick's attention to detail is insane. Bill's newspaper reading "lucky to be alive" after escaping the orgy alive, Alice teaches her daughter how to count using money and men, Ms. Nathanson’s boyfriend looks just like Bill, after both Alice and Bill return from the Christmas party after almost cheating the radio plays, "they both did a bad, bad thing", etc. His direction and mastery of cinema are clear in this movie. The cinematography throughout is subtle compared to some of his other work. Eyes Wide Shut employs soft life for most of its shots and a Christmas tree or light is evident in all scenes except for the orgy. The orgy scene is deeply disturbing which is elevated further by the amazing soundtrack. Eyes Wide Shut is one of the most unsettling movies I've ever seen.
The movie lacks anyone to root for. Our protagonist, Bill, is incredibly dull lacking any complexities. Fun fact, Kubrick chose his last name, Hartford, after Harrison Ford who he deemed the plainest actor in cinema. Bill lives his life through closed eyes, everything he wants gets handed to him and he buys his way through existence. Kubrick creates Bill this way in order to ensure that the viewer is planted in his seat. We don't relate to Bill because Bill acts more like an avatar for the viewer than an individual character. The haunting experiences he encounters are also encountered by the viewer. As the movie continues we see Bill plunge deeper and deeper into filth. His journey begins with his dead patient's daughter, Ms. Nathanson, attempting to commit infidelity with him, to which he rejects, to eventually caressing a stranger. Eyes Wide Shut runs just like a dream and becomes more and more bizarre as the movie continues. I noticed that in the newspaper, texts repeat. One of the last lines is "no dream is just a dream". How much of what we saw took place in reality? Was it part of Alice's dream? In the end, Ziegler gives Bill a story so that Bill can return to obedience, the perfect opportunity for Bill to close his eyes once again.
Alice is almost a foil for Bill. She acts as the core of the story. As we see Bill continue his odyssey, the camera cuts to Alice at home. Alice prevents Bill from death as she calls him right before he can contract HIV and unlike Bill, Alice is outspoken about her feelings and desires. This is what causes Bill to feel the need for revenge. All of the women that Bill encounters are redheaded, representing Alice.
Eyes Wide Shut has a deeply cynical thesis; men are the consumer and women the product. Bill's first line is, "have you seen my wallet" and Alice's is, "how do I look". The movie also asks the question, does a happy life require you to keep your eyes shut? In the first scene, Bill is unable to see his wife. Kubrick essentially says that marriage is about balancing the mystery, orgy, and intimacy, marriage. If you swing one way too much it can lead to death or boredom. Like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick draws from Homer's Odyssey. Much like Odyssey, the question of Alice and Penelope’s virtue causes great anxiety within both Odysseus and Bill. And like Odysseus, Bill has a long adventure filled with women and danger. There's also a reoccurring theme of rainbows and reaching the end. Yet reaching the end is impossible, it’s a void that can’t be filled, the false promise of desire much like sex. Desire is like Christmas, promising more than it delivers which is the purposefully the time of year this movie takes time in. The Christmas party of the first scene is the shiny bright part and the orgy is the dark underworld. This duality is also in Zieglar, who is a black mirror of Bill. Zieglar is what Bill could be, richer and more powerful, involved in a secret society. This secret society is never explained by Kubrick leaving its interpretation up to the viewer.
It was incredibly hard for me to give this movie a score out of ten as it is so ambiguous. I think no one will fully understand this movie but multiple viewings will probably help unravel it. Eyes Wide Shut is beyond its time, for better or for worse that's up to you.
Alice is almost a foil for Bill. She acts as the core of the story. As we see Bill continue his odyssey, the camera cuts to Alice at home. Alice prevents Bill from death as she calls him right before he can contract HIV and unlike Bill, Alice is outspoken about her feelings and desires. This is what causes Bill to feel the need for revenge. All of the women that Bill encounters are redheaded, representing Alice.
Eyes Wide Shut has a deeply cynical thesis; men are the consumer and women the product. Bill's first line is, "have you seen my wallet" and Alice's is, "how do I look". The movie also asks the question, does a happy life require you to keep your eyes shut? In the first scene, Bill is unable to see his wife. Kubrick essentially says that marriage is about balancing the mystery, orgy, and intimacy, marriage. If you swing one way too much it can lead to death or boredom. Like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick draws from Homer's Odyssey. Much like Odyssey, the question of Alice and Penelope’s virtue causes great anxiety within both Odysseus and Bill. And like Odysseus, Bill has a long adventure filled with women and danger. There's also a reoccurring theme of rainbows and reaching the end. Yet reaching the end is impossible, it’s a void that can’t be filled, the false promise of desire much like sex. Desire is like Christmas, promising more than it delivers which is the purposefully the time of year this movie takes time in. The Christmas party of the first scene is the shiny bright part and the orgy is the dark underworld. This duality is also in Zieglar, who is a black mirror of Bill. Zieglar is what Bill could be, richer and more powerful, involved in a secret society. This secret society is never explained by Kubrick leaving its interpretation up to the viewer.
It was incredibly hard for me to give this movie a score out of ten as it is so ambiguous. I think no one will fully understand this movie but multiple viewings will probably help unravel it. Eyes Wide Shut is beyond its time, for better or for worse that's up to you.
- GL
8 / 10
(Above) My favorite shot:
(Below) Runners-up:
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