delightfully simple and at the same time complex

Rating: Null/10 (24 August 1999)

Eyes Wide Shut is an amazing mixture of the simple and complex. Mr. Kubrick took as his premise the simple idea of marital infidelity. As we know, the actual act of infidelity need not be physical but can be emotional and can be done very simply but the repercussions are complex. This film has so much to offer that it should be seen twice to mine all its gems. So I will make only a few general observations. The cinematography was unusual providing almost a surreal feeling. At times it seemed as if it had been filmed in the '50's or 60's as there was not much color variation with an emphasis on the primaries. It also seemed unusual that although the film is about two and a half hours that each scene in Dr. Bill Hartford's odyssey seemed almost self-contained and not necessary to the other parts but important to the whole. The basic part of the soundtrack consisting of a one finger piano chord was highly effective as a mood setter. The sex scenes which got so much pre-release press were neither gratuitous or erotic but were cold and depersonalizing. One can only wonder why the need for computer generated images to cover what we're not sure to acquire the "R" rating for the North American version. One more movie of the summer of '99 to debate the MPAA rating system. To make more in depth comments I'll have to see this film again (which I will). Recommended. Three plus stars!!!