A triumphant end to a BRILLIANT career

Rating: Null/10 (25 August 2003)

I am a BIG fan of Stanley Kubrick, and it's a shame that we won't be able to witness another Kubrick film. What he contributed to film could hardly be put into words; he was simply a genius. His name is right up there with Hitchcock and Scorcese as far as milestone directors who revolutionized film. Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut', is a suitable and triumphant end to his illustrious career; it is misunderstood, quite ambiguous, controversial and different from anything you'd see.
The usual Kubrick signatures are present, the dream-like long shots, beautiful frames, and a steady, sometimes slow pace. Eyes Wide Shut' is a film-buff's movie. This obviously is in no way for the audience of Armageddon', XXX' or Charlie's Angels'it is a thinker's movie, as is all of Kubrick's films. Because of this, Eyes Wide Shut' will turn off many people, even some Kubrick fans. In a simple description, this movie is a character study. Everyone of my peers hated this movie, all I heard was it was boring', what is it about?', the movie sucked'. What strikes me about this movie is the fact that it is very different, almost dream-like throughout, but I for one was intrigued from beginning to end. Tom Cruise was excellent in his role; he really showed that he could downright act in this film and should've gotten more recognition for his role. Although I don't like Nicole Kidman, she was very effective in this as well. The true star of this movie is, of course, Kubrick. Simply put, this is a beautiful film to watch. This is true with all of his movies, and he doesn't disappoint here. The story explores humans and their sexual nature..it explores human relationships..simple! Whether what we see is a dream or not, in the end, doesn't really matter to me. The way Kubrick explores the human psyche in his films made him that much more unique, and he stripped everything down to the bare essence in EWS and said, this is how we are, like it or not, LOOK'. Whether or not you choose to do so is up to you. I think this movie is meant to be unsettling, everything you see is there for that purpose. This is a very mature film, which is why I think there's such a diverse opinion about it.
It's sad we won't get anymore Kubrick films, but this is a wonderful and suitable end to a wonderful career. The last testament of Kubrick's genius, in my opinion, is a great one.
*** 1/2 out of **** stars