The perfect end to a perfect filmmaker's career

Rating: Null/10 (6 September 2003)

I don't care what anyone else says. Sure, most of them say that Steven Spielberg is the greatest, most successful director of all time (which is true to a certain extent), I will always consider Stanley Kubrick to be the quintessential image of that; he is my all-time favourite filmmaker, with a style and interpretation that resonated with me from the first few seconds I saw of "The Shining" (1980), my first-ever Kubrick viewing. He is a director of unequaled talent, persistence, and vision, whose fascinating persona has been notoriously publicized in tabloid news around the globe for decades. He's been labelled "reclusive", "eccentric", a "tyrant", a "perfectionist", etc. ...Call him what you will, but you cannot deny the illustrious career he's made out of creating some of the most significant motion pictures ever.
That career was tragically shattered upon his death in March of 1999 - just a few months before the release of his now-final film: "Eyes Wide Shut", a gloomy, subdued, but hypnotic study of the human condition.
Like all the rest of Kubrick's films, "Eyes Wide Shut" of course boasts a stunning visual style that ends up making every frame look almost like a work of art. The soft, colourful palettes used throughout the film give an eerie, surreal, almost dreamy look to it. It matches the wildly dysfunctional mood of most scenes, and really lends some first-class cinematography to the proceedings.
When "Eyes Wide Shut" was released in the summer of 1999, I, unfortunately, was not able to see it. Of course, at the time, I still wasn't fully aware of just how unparalleled a genius Mr. Kubrick was, and I had yet to be fully appreciative of his unique body of work. A few years down the line...I finally caught an uncut television broadcast of the nearly three-hour film (since it was on TV it was over three hours, but that's besides the point). The reactions, emotions, and feelings simmering through me as I journeyed through this bizarre masterpiece cannot be fully expressed in words; I was captivated every minute, watching the horrific and sad tribulations faced by the film's lead couple - then-married "mega-stars" Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. I must say, for all the flak this film received about the acting when it was released, I was actually surprised at how ABOVE-average and well-done the performances were (as well as supporting roles). It clearly couldn't be easy for a real-life married celebrity couple (much less a non-couple) to pull it off with such uncomfortable, heavy subject matter. Forcing these two leads to question their own lives, the film does a remarkable job of presenting the psychological twists and turns of each spouse's state - and, of course, the famous, digitally-altered orgy cult sequence didn't fail to give me some nightmares with that chillingly simplistic piano score.
There is also a number of other memorable and haunting moments to be had, obviously...and the equally talked-about ending historically concludes with the perfect one-word statement before cutting to black and having the last Kubrick credits roll.
For all the legendary "porno movie" hype surrounding the more low-key end result, "Eyes Wide Shut" was apparently a gigantic disappointment to many critics and fans...but in the end, it proved that after an often-turbulent film career, one could still come out on top before abruptly leaving this world.
The perfect end to a perfect filmmaker's career. Stanley Kubrick, you will forever be missed.