Flawed, Symbolic Final Film

Rating: 10/10 (20 July 1999)

Kubrick's final movie wasn't perfect, but it was a good entertainment, and it made me think. Although by now the plot is well known, I will suggest that in viewing it you could be aware of a few things: 1) The movie is a symbolic journey into the underworld, much as the travels of Orpheus into Hades to rescue his true love. 2) All the women in the movie are a part of Dr. Hartford's wife. 3) The movie is about jealousy, but it is mostly about how little we know of other people. It's about how all we see are masks (looks for this), the tip of the iceburg of unconscious fantasy and desire. It's about the trauma of sudden, unexpected revelation of sexual desire, a Freudian theme. 4) Look for the use of color as a symbol of state of mind, of the use of intoxicants as a signal of changing state of being. 5) Who is the inquisitor in the orgy scene, how does he relate to Lew, Dr. Hartford's friend? In any case, the movie, like any good fiction, resists simple messages and morals. The fun of it for me was to go and see it, which was an enjoyable 2.5 hours that passed too quickly (the movie is visually beautiful, as are Cruise and Kidman) and then have something interesting to puzzle over for a while. By the way, the acting isn't at all as bad