What's it all about?

Rating: 9/10 (4 May 2000)

In my opinion, "Eyes Wide Shut" is about male insecurity and stupidity. Bill Harford, a doctor, is led on a baffling and bewildering journey of sexual discovery after his wife's stoned confession that she once thought about sleeping with another man. I think it is in part an exploration of one man trying to view his relationship with his wife in terms of the outside world. His is a journey where he gains knowledge, not necessarily experience. He never takes part in any of the sexual adventures he sees played out in front of him. This impotence plays on him more and more, working him into a state of paranoia. The sexual theatrics of New York's elite are stunning sequences, and Kubrick's trademark humour shoots through the veins of this, his last film. It certainly has a specialised audience, and a fair number of detractors, but I was spellbound and amused. Despite all the female nudity, men are made out to be the dummies.