Frustrating Last Entry from Kubrick

Rating: 7/10 (3 January 2006)

It's a shame that something as muddled (though fascinating and watchable throughout) as "Eyes Wide Shut" would become the last movie directed by possibly the greatest director of all time, Stanley Kubrick. It showcases all the things his detractors had been falsely claiming for years: he's out of steam, it's too long, it's too weird, and it has no point. Unfortunately the film is as overshadowed by the fact that it's Kubrick's last as it is by the fact that it was released at the height of Cruise and Kidman's status as Hollywood's uber-couple. Oh, how we wish Kubrick could be with us today, and how we all thought Tom and Nicole would last forever.
Kubrick's look at marriage and fidelity can be boiled down pretty easily: misadventures in unfaithfulness can be equally damaging playing out in one's imagination as they can be in reality. Despite a great, raw, and entrancing performance from Nicole Kidman, the film is pretty much one-sided and dedicates most of its runtime to Tom Cruise's unrealistic though entertaining nightly escapades. Only in a Kubrick film would a man find the prettiest, most polite, kindest hooker in New York City and then just happen upon a huge aristocratic sex cult at some castle/mansion out on Long Island. The whole thing is more kinky than erotic and just a bit silly, which isn't to say it's without its merits.
In the end, in spite of its flaws, I think it's rather fitting that the last line of the last film of a director like Kubrick who always had such a dark sense of humor would be, "f*ck" and be spoken by one of the most elegant and beautiful and talented actresses of her generation. Sounds like a great idea.