Fascinating but dated and illogical

Rating: Null/10 (4 August 1999)

If this film is really about a couple exploring their attitudes toward sex and marriage -- and that's one of a possible zillion explanations -- it misses the mark completely for a film made in the 1990s. Far from being bold and frank, EWS doesn't go nearly far enough. The "orgy" centerpiece scene comes across more silly than anything else. Most of the male characters are overplayed and exaggerated stereotypes, and most of the women are demure and interchangeable -- why? The lapses in logic are almost endless, yet I did find this film fascinating to watch. Kubrick is a marvelously skilled filmmaker -- he has to be to make claptrap like this as mesmerizing as it is. If only he had a decent story and the willingness to be push the envelope more sexually.