This one grows on you - Spoiler

Rating: 8/10 (26 May 2000)

Bottom line with "Eyes Wide Shut" for me is this - I loved it. And most of my friends chastised me for that because they hated it. Hearing their perspective, this is what I concluded - most people want films that ZIP along, especially if we're talking about the summer market. Also, most don't want a film that's open to interpretation. That's work. Well, I didn't mind the work. There's a haunting beauty and imagery to this film that lingers with you, no matter how much you may despise the overall package. And as for that "package," here's what I surmise (after sharing this viewpoint with my friends, they seemed more open to the experience)...
I interpreted the film as one big dream sequence for Cruise's character (hence the title) that takes place after the pot-smoking catalyst/1st Act Turning Point. Once in the dream, he's offered one sexual fantasy after another, but each fantasy turns out to be a nightmare, i.e.: the girl in the costume shop, the hooker with AIDS, the orgy gone awry, the death of the orgy-savior-girl, etc. It's only when Dr. Bill opens up his feelings to his wife at the story's close that he can fully consummate his primal urge.
Unfortunately, the mainstream market can't embrace a movie like this because it's so open to interpretation. The cineplex crowd doesn't want to sit there and work out the "meaning" while downing their Junior Mints. What's confounding is that even the critics and die-hard Kubrick fans threw in the towel on this one. Bummer. Because like Kubrick's previous films, this one requires more of an open mind. If you take on the film as a dream, then all bets are off and suddenly, you're in the hands of someone who's reinventing the conventional mode of storytelling. Maybe in time, people will realize how beautiful this film is. It sure beats sitting through "Battlefield Earth."