Is it a worthy swan song?

Rating: 9/10 (18 July 1999)

Being a confirmed Kubrick fan, I would say yes. The pacing is a bit off near the end, though I think this has more to do with the script and the inordinate amount of weight placed on a climactic dialogue scene that doesn't reveal much. But then, that could be intentional. The whole movie feels like Kubrick's perverse joke on anyone expecting a hot, fast sex thriller starring Tom and Nicole. Generally the movie never gives the audience what it came for. This will annoy some viewers (perhaps many), but Kubrick did something similar with THE SHINING, which is basically an anti-horror film. He didn't obey genre rules and he dared to risk losing the audience. A true rebel.