Bill is existing but not living, takes the world for granted.

Rating: 7/10 (2 January 2011)

Unfortunately Kubrick didn't have the chance to finish this film. But if he had I'm sure we would've had a chance to grasp its meaning better. My guess, after having watched the film several times, is that Kubrick would've have wanted us to get the following message: Bill (Cruise) is living in a kind of virtual existence and doesn't appreciate what he has or better said what he has inherited as a member of the western civilization. Alice (Kidman) is portrayed as a victim in her role as a member of the woman gender. This comes clear as the film develops when we see how women are treated all along the film. If they are not nice, faithful and obedient housewives, they are hookers that can be bought and misused more or less like animals or slaves. It is their flesh we are interested in. Almost all of the main scenes in this film focus on these concepts. Bill ignores his wife until she confesses some thoughts and flirtations on other men. He reacts as if some of his possessions were about to be robbed and immediately tries to take revenge by being himself unfaithful to her. Suddenly she is real and exists but instead of giving her love, only tries to cheat on her in a miserable and in the end in a failed manner. Now, this is a very difficult theme for a film at any level and Kubrick as a perfectionist as he was, embarked it in an analytical level going slowly step by step, scene by scene systematically to make us understand the implications of the plot. Unfortunately this gives a rather theatric and passive feeling about the whole thing. It seems we are watching a heavy Ibsen theatric play from the 18th century and not a film that is supposed to be modern. This fact is also reflected on the end that is supposed to be a climax after all these steps. It is not, it is tame and disappointedly anticlimax. It is just showing us the indifference or the difficulty about solving the issues this film is dealing with. If just Kubrick had lived enough time to finish it properly.