Review of Eyes Wide Shut (1999) by Alexander Z — 16 May 2012

The story is intriguing, but Kubrick either doesn't understand human emotion, or deliberately makes every actor stilted, boring, and seemingly like aliens that have put on human skins and are unsure of how to communicate like people. And the otherworldly dreamlike state that Cruise is supposed to be drifting through is a horrible explanation, because it doesn't explain the horrendous acting in the beginning and end of the film before and after the dream, respectively. Attributing it all to a metaphor for marital strife is pretty weak too.

And if the whole thing is meant to be a dream, well Jesus Bill, can't you come up with anything better? There's a reason dream diaries are so fucking boring and nonsensical.