Eyes Wide Shut.... Well, more like Eyes Wide Off....

Rating: 5/10 (7 July 2004)

I know that this was Mr. Kubrick's last great film.... However, I just don't think it was that great.... Making Mr. and (the then) Mrs. Tom Cruise as the leads just didn't make it seem that much better, either.... Don't get me wrong, both Tom and Nicole are good performers in their own right, but this movie just doesn't seem to do much with either of them.... Their on screen chemistry seems lost in this epic.... Seemingly off from their chemistry in 'Days of Thunder'....
Tom's role as Dr. Bill just comes across as extremely wooden - not up to his usual caliber... It's almost as off as some of his scenes from 'Risky Business'.... About his only lively moments are against the gay seeming hotel desk clerk (played by out actor, Alan Cumming) and the scene with the hooker's room mate - delivering the box of pastries.... Actually, that scene again brings to mind the Joel Goodson character of 'Risky Business'.
Nicole does well in her role as Mrs. Dr. Bill, but again, just seems a bit... off.... Her take as Virginia Woolf in 'The Hours' was top notch, and she did well in 'Moulin Rouge'.... And, as the ghost that's not a ghost in 'The Others', she was so much better... But in this she just seems .. off....
I've seen both of them do SO much better in the past....
About the only aspect of the film that really works so well, is the soundtrack.... The simplistic piano tappings - raising and lowering in tone and in tempo add certain intrigues to the scenes in which they're used... although sometimes horribly over used....
The scene's at the mansion sex party are surreal - to say the least... very dramatic and intriguing.... the costumes are excellent, with gorgeously crafted masks donning so many extras..... And the scenes with Mr. Milich (?) - at the costume shop - alternate between humorous and horrifying....
And, yes, I know that Mr. Kubrick was a brilliant man - phenomenal in many other ways.... However, I just found this movie slow and not really all that great. I gave it a 5 out of 10 - not bad but not great, either... This whole film just seems off.....