Hardly worthy of the scorn still heaped on it

Rating: 9/10 (22 April 2016)

Having only been a little girl in 1999, I was not aware of the sheer disdain heaped upon this film. Many of the people I know who were old enough to remember its release only wrinkled their noses when I expressed my interest in watching it. My film professor (who admittedly is not a Kubrick fan anyway) claimed it was too bizarre for him and that he barely knew anyone who even liked it. My mother (who has never even seen it) claimed the critics "hated it at the time" and that "the sex scenes are supposed to be boring and the plot looks stu-pid!" Many on IMDb have already expressed their boredom and estrangement. Nevertheless I went in with an open mind.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) is nothing but a masterpiece; maybe not the best of Kubrick's films, but a gem in his oeuvre nevertheless. If you are looking for smut or an erotic thriller, then this is not for you. Eyes Wide Shut is more interested in examining the link between sex, love, and fidelity than supplying smutty material in any form. The sex and nudity in particular are portrayed in the coldest, most clinical manner, so hardly any of it is arousing anyway. The whole films is uncomfortable yes; the hazy colors and moody score often lend it the feel of a strange, slow nightmare.
Like A Clockwork Orange or 2001: A Space Odyssey, the film brings up big questions about the human condition and never supplies answers. I was not even sure if Bill and Alice's marriage would even survive for much longer by the end of the film. The ambiguity is just brilliant. It's the kind of movie that will have you discussing it for a long time afterward, long after lesser movies have been forgotten. By the time the credits were finished, I was left with a great sense of sadness because after this, we have no more Stanley Kubrick films to look forward to. What a tragedy for film lovers! Still I am grateful for the thirteen movies he did give us and this one is no exception.