Kubrick's Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (23 August 2017)

The short descriptions and plot summaries, here and elsewhere, while perfectly accurate, really don't do this film justice. It takes place in New York City, over the course of several days, and centers around Tom Cruise and his efforts to deal with a very strange situation in which he finds himself.
Tom Cruise plays a doctor and the main protagonist, Nicole Kidman is his wife, Sydney Pollock is his very wealthy friend and patient. While the actors all do an excellent job, IMHO the real star of this film doesn't appear on screen at all. The real star is the Director, Stanley Kubrick. The way he adapts the story from the novel "Traumnovelle", elicits wonderful performances from the entire cast, controls the mood with great music, and orchestrates the whole thing into a riveting experience, in my view make him the real star.
There are so many delicious little sub-plots that, while they could have been greatly simplified, as they are they add a dimension of character and color that make the film far more interesting. The scenes where Tom Cruise speaks with a gay hotel clerk, or deals with a costumer played by Rade Serbedzija (along with his nymphomaniac daughter and her two boyfriends), or finally confronts Sydney Pollock at the end, almost stand alone as great little character pieces that not only help tell the story, but become little side branches that add to the whole.
That said, for me the best scene of the film is at the "House", where the good doctor finds himself immersed in a very bizarre and dangerous situation. I won't say any more than that, just watch for that scene.
This film works on so many levels. There's the main plot itself, where Tom Cruise tries to deal with a strange but all-too-real situation. The terrific little sub-plots with wonderful, if slightly off-beat, supporting characters. The music, especially at moments of high tension.
Unfortunately, Stanley Kubrick passed shortly after finishing this film. It is often considered his masterpiece, and deservedly so. This is easily one of my favorite films.