Eyes Wide Open....a New Ink-Spot Test...

Rating: Null/10 (13 August 2000)

This is a thought provoking film, justifiably erotic with excellent cinematography, haunting music, great costumes, and very artistic direction. The story examines the relationship between a married couple over a few days and the sexual angst between them. This movie will be the subject no doubt of endless showings at film festivals as it is easy to read into or interpret from this film all sorts of hidden meanings and subtleties which the now deceased director is famous for notable 2001....a space odyssey......hence do we have here a sexual odyssey?? The best part of the whole film is the costume party...brilliant in every way. I must confess however after the film was over I read many reviews about the film as I was having some difficulty in deciding what if any "meaning" was being made by the film-makers....assuming they know that themselves.(I am still waiting to learn what the aforementioned 2001 was really about). From the reviews i read all sorts of fruedian and other interpretations were espoused including a lot of pscho-babble. Anyhow, my main criticism about the film...and perhaps only criticism is that the 2 main male actors were mis-cast. Tom Cruise was out of his depth playing this role.....he never gave the impression of being a doctor in his ill-fitting suits...and looked more like a cocktail waitor.. and Sydney Pollack was unconvincing and almost half-hearted.(Jack Nicholson would have been superb in either of these two roles).Despite the criticism this film is still in the Master-Class league for its sheer power and richly textured intensity. Keeping my eyes wide open though and giving my own interpretation of this film(which I hope is uninfluenced by the reviews I read....this may be a spoiler...so its only for those who have already seen the film)....I reckon the wife "set-up" the husband to teach him a lesson for his philandering...and so with the help of the Hungarian dancer at the start of the film used the costume party etc to keep "hubbie"faithful....hence the mask on the pillow near the end of the film..... Well anyway thats how I read the film before seeing the other reviews but rather like an ink-spot test what makes this movie compelling is that it analyses the viewer more than the viewed.