An exquisite finale!

Rating: 10/10 (17 July 1999)

Stanley Kubrick's final film is a broodingly psychological, frightening and dark work.
In a way, it is an interesting opus to end a legendary career, since his past masterpieces (i.e. 2001: A Space Odyssey; A Clockwork Orange; Dr. Strangelove; etc.) had several Freudian meanings toward the larger picture, whether it was a satire on crime or a grand view of the universe.

And as a finale, Eyes Wide Shut's sexual flavor puts all of his works in full circle in that aspect. But each frame of the film is so cluttered with symbolism and abstract messages (as typical of Kubrick) that the poetic facet of his films are also given a concluding spin.
As with his other pieces, the photography is wonderous, capturing the aura of the raw emotions, the terror of the escapades and the maddening facets of lust. And as usual, the music is placed so skillfully that it encompasses the passions of each aspect of the scene.
Eyes Wide Shut is truly a remarkable ending of a truly remarkable career. The themes of his past works resurface, subtly, but tightly resolved as the Freudian final word is uttered.