"I have seen one or two things in my life but never, never anything like this."

Rating: 8/10 (26 January 2007)

'Eyes Wide Shut,' the long-awaited final film from visionary director Stanley Kubrick was released in 1999, shortly after Kubrick's sad and unfortunate death. Many predicted that it would be Kubrick's masterpiece - the film by which he would inevitably be remembered. It isn't, but 'Eyes Wide Shut' remains a stunning film, and nothing less than we've come to expect from this master director.
Tom Cruise ("Minority Report") is Dr. William "Bill" Harford, a handsome and successful young doctor, who is happily married to Alice (Nicole Kidman, "The Others") with one young daughter, Helena. Bill is loyal to Alice, and he expects the same in return. However, he is severely shocked one night when Alice confesses that, a year earlier, she'd seriously contemplated having an affair with a young Navy officer.
Many have complained about the slow pace of 'Eyes Wide Shut.' I didn't find anything negative about it. The slow, meditative pace of the film (which shouldn't come as a surprise to fans of Kubrick's spectacular "2001: A Space Odyssey") gave the film its entire, dream-like quality, and I was simply transfixed to the screen the whole time. The scene where a masked Bill Harford wanders into the mysterious mansion amidst a secret sex ritual is simpling mesmerising, with no small thanks to the great direction from Kubrick. Once again, as always, he's chosen the perfect music to capture the atmosphere of the scene!
The only scenes where I thought the film slipped up were a couple of the later mansion scenes, when the mysterious woman was warning Cruise to get out of there. The bit where she said, "You are in grave danger!" sounded a bit melodramatic (reminded me of 'The Da Vinci Code,' actually), and also when she interrupts Cruise's stern interrogation by yelling, "STOP!" The quick zoom used in that moment made me laugh...
However, an astute fellow IMDb user alerted me to the fact that perhaps Kubrick did this deliberately. The actress in that scene (the mask prevents me from remembering who she actually was) sounded like she was acting because, simply put, her character was just acting. The entire display, as Victor Ziegler (Sydney Pollack) suggests later in the film, may have been an elaborate ploy to scare the wits through Harford. Not being an experienced actor, the woman may have been convincing enough for the terrified and confused Harford, but not necessarily for the astute film viewer sitting in the comfort of their home. Though it is impossible to understand entirely what Kubrick was attempting with that scene, it seems like the sort of thing he'd do!
'Eyes Wide Shut' contains great performances from a talented cast. I thought that Tom Cruise shined in the main role, translating the fear and confusion of his character to the screen beautifully. Nicole Kidman was also very good  her slow, brooding delivery of dialogue certainly contributed to the dreamlike quality of the film.
This is a quality film from one of the all-time greats of film-making. Often overlooked simply as "Stanley Kubrick's last film," 'Eyes Wide Shut' deserves to be seen and appreciated by more film-goers.