It just has a certain something

Rating: 10/10 (9 August 2000)

As an aspiring filmmaker, I've often dissected movies to see what makes them great. Other times I'll watch a movie, know that it's great, but can't form a sentence to say why I have such thoughts. Eyes Wide Shut is one of those movies where I can both dissect it and other times I can just let it move me. And since I've already written a cerebral review before, I'll stick to the emotions for this one.
I think the fact that of any movie I've ever reviewed this movie alone has made me want to make two separate reviews tells me something about the power it has. I could go on for hours about what I thought made it great, but I already did that in the other review. I wrote that review after seeing the movie once. Here is how I felt after seeing it twice:
Thank god for directors like Kubrick. I was so glad to see a movie that had a different pacing than most movies today. The movie took its time to unfold and in the end, even if every single incident isn't examined, it helps to create atmosphere. It helped draw me into the film. The vivid imagery and odd happenings were then more acceptable. I viewed certain events with humor, with apprehension, with interest, but never with disbelief.
The acting was dead-on target. I think Kidman deserved an academy award simply for her speech about infidelity. She also plays an inebriated woman quite well. Too bad her role became smaller as Cruise's got bigger. And Cruise was perfect as a normally rational man who internalizes his feelings and is suddenly given information that he does not know how to deal with. He made me believe that what he was going through was genuine and often quite painful.
And, in the end, I think I really love this movie because when I see it I get a feeling deep in my gut. This feeling can't be explained, but I get the feeling when I watch something that is, in my opinion, a truly great piece of cinema. It's that feeling that inspires me. It's what makes me aspire to be a filmmaker. And the fact that I get it when I watch Eyes Wide Shut tells me that even if it's misunderstood, even if there is nothing to understand, Kubrick's final film was one of tremendous importance and validity.
10 out of 10.