Not for the casual movie fan, but serious fans will love it

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 1999)

At last, after 12 years of waiting, Stanley Kubrick's new film is in theaters. Alas, it's also Kubrick's final movie... The great one died in March shortly after finishing work on "Eyes Wide Shut." Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman star in a dreamy, surreal exploration of human sexuality, love and jealousy. Like all Kubrick films, "EWS" will only be understood and truly appreciated after repeated viewings, but I offer here a few first impressions. This is a gorgeous movie, full of intense primary colors, lovely natural lighting and the wonderful tracking shots Kubrick has made famous. The performances by Kidman and Cruise are both exceptional, but the supporting cast is possibly even more impressive. Those looking for titillation won't find it here; instead, this is a serious study of the intense emotions that lurk just below the surface in most if not all marriages. The story begins with our sexy couple going to a party, where they get separated and both engage in some serious flirtation, but nothing more. Later, back at home, they discuss the evening in one of the movies strongest scenes. Perhaps to make Cruise jealous, Kidman tells her husband about a man she has been fantasizing about for months, a Naval officer she saw only in passing, but who she says she would have given up everything for if he had only asked her to. Before Cruise can react to Kidman's riveting speech, he's called out on business (he's a doctor,) launching him into a night of bizarre sexual and romantic encounters that play like a feverish nightmare. It culminates with a bizarre masked orgy at which Dr. Bill is deemed to be an interloper and is threatened with death if he reveals what he has seen. Back at home, Kidman tells him about a sexual dream she has had in his absence, and as the rest of the movie unfolds, we begin to wonder what is real and what is a dream. I won't reveal more of the plot, but will say the movie ends on a hopeful, romantic note, something Kubrick fans have seldom seen before. Some critics say the ending is a sell-out, but I kind of liked it. The final word spoken before the "Directed By" credit is, it seems to me, a fitting epitaph for Kubrick, the most cerebral yet sensual director America has yet produced. A note for casual movie fans: this is not for you. Audiences used to the pace of sitcoms and "Armageddon"-type films will not be able to sit still for this 2-and-a-half hour meditation on the human condition. People behind me in the opening-night packed house bitched and moaned throughout about the pace, that nothing ever happened, etc. What's more, they laughed at totally inappropriate places. Obviously meant to see "Big Daddy" instead.