Not Fantastic, But Very Interesting And Original

Rating: Null/10 (11 January 2004)

Eyes Wide Shut was Stanley Kubrick's last film, and having seen it, I have to say he left with a unique, original and interesting film. I've only seen 4 of his films (2001, Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket and this) and I think that FMJ is still his best film, but this is still worth seeing.

Doctor William Harford (Tom Cruise) becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter after his wife Alice (Nicole Kidman) admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met and chastising William for dishonesty in not admitting to his own fantasies. This sets him off into unfulfilled encounters with a dead patient's daughter and a hooker. But when he visits a nightclub, where a pianist friend Nick Nightingale (Todd Field) is playing, he learns about a secret sexual group and decides to attend one of their congregations. However, he quickly learns he is in well over his head and finds he and his family is threatened.
Cruise and Kidman are good in this, and Kubrick brings a very dark view suggesting that powerful people are involved in orgies (that's what I think anyway). Even a man they knew well was involved. They kind of state the obvious in the dialog often, but it's forgivable. Some people think the whole thing was William's dream, but I think it was all real. The 1st time I saw this, I thought it was rubbish, but I watched it again and thought it was good. It's not fantastic, but worth watching.
Rating: 3/5