"...I was ready to give up everything."

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2018)

This is the kind of movie that I'll almost immediately head on over to the IMDb FAQ page after watching to see if there's anything offered that might help with interpreting the picture. But as is often the case with complex stories, there are multiple levels of interpretation one might apply to the events that occur on a bizarre night during which Dr. William Harford (Tom Cruise) tries to come to terms with his wife's (Nicole Kidman) hint of a marital infidelity. There's something to be said about the idea that Harford's participation at the masquerade party was all part of a dreamscape, and that it was only his fevered imagination coming up with all the strange occurrences he experienced after leaving his wife at their apartment. How else for example, would Masked Woman #1 have been able to determine that Harford's life was in great danger by attending, and that he should leave immediately? Or consider the sudden appearance of Harford's own mask on his bed pillow next to Alice (Kidman). If it were all a dream, there's no reason to question the improbabilities because one's own subconscious mind is making it all up. Also contributing to the idea that most of this was all a dream was Harford's own reaction to events occurring around him, as most of what he experienced summoned very little emotional response.
While watching though, I didn't get the sense that Harford was dreaming. Having become obsessed over his wife's admission, it felt that he was out for some semblance of revenge against her for even thinking of being unfaithful. He further added to his own paranoia by envisioning his wife in bed with the mythical Navy military man. The entire sequence at the party estate was bizarrely surreal and had me mesmerized. It had the appearance of some sort of black mass ritual and felt demonic in it's intensity. The use of a password and the presence of the blindfolded piano player Nick (Todd Field) only added to the mystery of Harford's experience.
Regarding the principals, I don't think Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman ever looked more appealing. As a glamorous couple they rivaled Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and the fact that they were married while making this picture suggests they were willing to lay it all on the line for their craft. I was put off by Kidman's character while at the Ziegler (Sidney Pollack) party while dancing with Szavost (Sky Dumont), and she only added to the perception of being a witch with a capital 'B' back at their apartment. The idea that their marriage was hitting the skids would be something of an understatement, though Harford's response went a bit beyond the pale. Perhaps another viewing of the film would be in order to further test some of the ideas presented by other critics, though one's first impression of a surreal adventure needs some time to percolate. I will revisit the film again when the time is right.