a challenge to the audience

Rating: Null/10 (25 July 1999)

Stanley Kubrick made films that proved opinions about people and society. He proved that we are: Self-destructive buffoons (Strangelove), Arrogant (2001), Vicious and Unrepentant (Clockwork), Fragile and Destructive(Shining), Cowards and Ugly Heroes(Full Metal.) Seems many have walked into Eyes Wide Shut thinking this is the film where he shows us how Horny we are. I'm afraid not. This is a movie about how Selfish we are. The film is a stew of honesty, lies, dream and reality - and how each can intermingle and mix - and ultimately, that it may not matter which is which. In his final statement as an artist, Kubrick made a movie that does not pander to the audience. Many moral lines are drawn and erased in this film, and there are no moments of clarity where you have no question what to feel. Or what the director intends. Movies are a massive tool of manipulation, and in this film, Kubrick doesn't tell us how to feel - he asks us to figure that out. This film is incredibly beautiful. Its motion flows. Brightly-lit colors and shadows are used for great emotional effect. Compositions are near-perfect. It's visually amazing in the most subtle way. It's rare to find a major motion picture that is as reluctant to loudly define itself to the audience as EWS is. Tom and Nicole impressed the hell out of me. Through Kubrick's lense, Cruise is neither as handsome nor as strong as we remember him. Kidman is the opposite - never more perfect, sometimes to the detriment of her character's likability. I have no doubt that was intentional - there was nothing this director did that wasn't, for good or ill. Accusations have been made that there is a lack of intimacy and chemistry between the married actors. They have the chemistry of two people who were once very close, who think they know the other very well, but have driven each other away. The characters have a clinical distance between them, even in "love-making". This could easily be mistaken on the surface for "lack of chemistry". It's a subtle distinction some audience members may not have the patience to find. Unlike Kubrick other films, this film casts little satire or moral judgement on its characters or the audience. I'm not sure yet whether I enjoyed this film. At times, it is meandering and confusing. It forces you to either pay close attention or get bored. I obviously respect it. The fact that I'm still trying to determine my opinion 24 hours later says a lot about this film.