Review of Eyes Wide Shut (1999) by Gregory G — 15 Dec 2011

The final film of the masterful Stanley Kubrick is quite simply a disappointment. Having said that even Kubrick's failures are more interesting than most other movies. Based on Arthur Schnitzler's "Traumnovelle" from the 1920s, "Eyes Wide Shut" is supposed to be set in the present day but it doesn't feel modern.

Tom Cruise is a doctor who is stung by jealousy after his wife (Nicole Kidman) confesses to having sexual desires for other men. This revelation that women aren't different from men in their feelings about sex is shocking to Cruise but comes across as naive.

In response, Cruise embarks on an all night odyssey in New York to confront his own sexual desires. As an exploration of the temptations in monogamy and in its sexual attitudes the movie feels dated. The obvious sound stage sets of New York are old fashioned.

For a movie that deals with sexual jealousy and desire, there is a lack of eroticism despite all of the nudity on display. An orgy scene at a party in an upscale mansion is meant to be shocking but looks ludicrously photogenic.

The laborious pacing is meant to evoke a dream-state but Kubrick puts the viewers in a trance. It could've worked as a fantasy but there is no humor or sense of playfulness. Kubrick appears to have lost the ear for speech patterns as the dialogue scenes are redundant and sound as if they were delivered in slow-motion.

Tom Cruise is badly miscast in the lead role. He appears passive and inexpressive so we never know what he's really thinking or feeling. Kidman comes off better. Her monologue confession is beautifully sustained.

The dissonant tones used in Gyorgy Ligeti's recurring piano theme "Musica ricercata" is haunting. It stays with you even as the images from the movie fade. With Todd Field, Sydney Pollack, Marie Richardson, Alan Cumming.