Review of Eyes Wide Shut (1999) by Oliver W — 04 Oct 2018

"Eyes Wide Shut" is a pretty incredible and incredibly well-made film. I really and truly enjoyed it. I appreciated how much it delved into the dysfunction of Bill and Alice's relationship.

Much of Kubrick's films have relationships that are screwed up, but this film examined it in such a deep and twisted way. There was something that felt so gratifying about watching this man fall further into this deep dark hole because of his jealousy over his wife's fantasies.

I was intrigued and transfixed by watching his plight. At times it was hard to tell if Alice was egging him on or was genuine in her part in the relationship. When she shared her dream with Bill of her own orgy participation, it almost felt as if she was intentionally trying to further his jealousy.

It was absolutely one of my favorite scenes watching Alice crumble and Bill's wheels turn as he listens to her story. To say the film is a success doesn't entirely feel right to me. Considering the film was edited after Kubrick's death and that we will never get the real, actual, final edit from him makes the film feel like it is missing something.

Despite this, it is (obviously) extraordinarily done. Part of the intrigue in watching Bill's plight was the flashbacks that he would continuously have about his wife and the naval officer. Each time he would decide to do something, the flashbacks would appear and propel him forward.

As an audience member, it made me feel empathy toward Bill that I wouldn't otherwise. It felt as though it somehow justified Bill's actions despite the affair (supposedly) never happening.