Just a Big Tease

Rating: 6/10 (5 March 2004)

Kubrick's swan song is extremely crafted porn to tease the male audience, by letting nothing keep happening to male protagonist Tom Cruise and not revealing the details clearly at the masquerade orgy in a remote mansion. The setting is a big tease by itself, as the audience, who may identify themselves with pedestrian bourgeois Cruise, can only imagine if the story could be real or not. The empty film with the gorgeous outlook may be appropriate to conclude Kubrick's career, as he had perfected most of his works with various materials in a randomly wide range, which are sometimes meaningful and sometimes not.
Technical note: The editor used a lot of long cross-dissolves, which are strongly annoying. I assume and hope it was not Kubrick's intention.