Look Closer

Rating: 4/10 (7 June 2004)

There's more to this movie than t & a. It was really made famous during its release because Tom and Nicole split. I doubt this was coincidental - they knew that splitting would cause more controversy over an already-controversial film. I'm not saying that they only split up because they wanted more attention for their film, but I have a feeling that they would have split up much sooner if not for the film. (Rumor has it they were bickering during filming and had to have instructions on how to create sexual tension, although Cruise - always quick to put down lurking insinuations of his sexuality - denied this.)
It is the late, great Stanley Kubrick's last film, and one of his worst, but it is unfairly regarded as an X-rated R-rated movie (so to speak) when it really is a piece of tame masterwork. It's not as great as A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1973), 2001 (1968) or my personal favorite of Kubrick's, THE SHINING (1980), but it's better than FULL METAL JACKET (1987) and beautifully filmed.
The plot: Cruise and Kidman are married in the film. She admits to him one night after getting stoned that she almost slept with a military figure years ago, so her husband haves a minor breakdown and slips into a bizarre sexual odyssey.
The movie is packed with nudity and sex and even the advertising had an aroma of sleaze surrounding it, but it really is an important piece of work, and significant in the fact that it was Kubrick's final farewell to cinema. I wouldn't say it's underrated but I think that it's misinterpreted - it's far more than just a sleazy sex story with two huge sex symbols. Sure, watching Nicole shed her clothes off is great, but to say that's the ONLY point of the film is absurd. Quoting the tagline for AMERICAN BEAUTY: "Look closer..."