A fitting epitaph for a brilliant career

Rating: 8/10 (17 July 1999)

If you're looking for a brilliant art piece of cinema, it will definitely more than fulfill your desires. it is very well shot, with oh-so-artistic grainy film and lots of incredible visuals. If you're looking for plot, it may or may not have one. it's not so obvious, but you can play it in your head after it's over and figure it out. it doesn't outright ever give a reasoning for any of the incidents or actions, and they're not so obvious that you'd pick it up while watching for the first time. if you're looking for resolution, go elsewhere. not much changes over the course of three days (movie time) or 2:50 (real time). maybe a little peace of mind for the main characters, but that's about it. their lives aren't any better off, nor is there some incredible climax or mind-shattering event. if you're looking for tom cruise, it's here, in abundance. the same can't be said for nicole kidman (a much better actor), nor any of the other minor characters. there are parts that will chill you (the ritual scene), parts that will make you laugh (little quips from kidman towards cruise, mostly in the beginning), and of course you will get your fill of nudity and sex. the movie is very long and slowly paced (almost 3 hours), but I didn't feel bored at any time, and I also found myself wanting more at the end, just because it was very pretty to watch. character development was also very slow, and you really didn't get an idea of how these people were until late in the movie. the only character who has a lot of development is cruise's, but you at least get a hint of other characters. my only complaint with the movie is that although artistically, it's every bit "2001", it doesn't make the impact that kubrick's other films have. if this was a film by anyone else (barring other masters such as Scorcese, Lynch or Spielberg) it would be a masterpiece. Kubrick probably couldn't have directed the movie any better (it's incredible, believe me), but the story itself is at fault for the shortcomings of the movie. I give it 4 stars for art, 3 stars overall.