Odyssey of love, lust and reawakening.

Rating: 10/10 (8 January 2005)

When this film was released there was a small minority of critics who did not like this film. But like many Kubrick films Eyes Wide Shut is ahead of its time in terms of artistic impression and thought-provocation.
First I will like to talk about some of the criticisms many had about this film when it was first released. The slow pace at the beginning and the seemingly "staged atmosphere" is believed to have been created to convey a "dream-like" ambiance. I don't know whether everyone will find this film compelling but I think the ambiguity of the plot creates everything open to interpretation.
After his wife Alice(Kidman) confesses a near act of infidelity, the "good-doctor" Bill Harbord(Cruise) goes on an odyssey-like walk through the empty streets on New York (Its suppose to symbolize his spiritual emptiness), in a vindictive pursuit to prove his character as a man. When meeting his friend Nick Nightingale (Todd Field), he learns of an underground society that indulges in group sex. Realizing this is the opportunity to reassure himself he ventures into the society only to be revealed as an intruder and cast out. He then tries to retrace his steps in true Kubrick fashion.
This film like most of Kubrick's films is artsy and rigorous picture that is just simply not designed for everyone to like because contrary to what you might think it is unique and unconventional. Can you name a film that resembles Eyes Wide Shut in terms of the density of the storyline, emotionally intense, psychologically compelling and strangely thought-provoking? You likely can't because it is a anomaly in a bland and rigid film industry.
If you did not like this film, I suggest that you watch this film again and think about what I said and OPEN-UP to it. Take it for what it is trying to put forth. I've heard many people say that the first time they saw this film they did not understand it, but later came to enjoy it. And this is the case for many Kubrick films. In fact when I first saw A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as Dr. Strangelove I could not understand why the academy considers them classics, but they grew on me as well.
In the end, Eyes Wide Shut like 2001: A Space Odyssey will be a film that was misunderstood by many people when it came out but inevitably will be widely considered as another landmark in the career of the greatest film-maker of all-time.
Rating: 10/10 A Kubrick Classic