Directed by:
Stanley KubrickCinematography:
Larry SmithComposer:
Jocelyn PookCast:
Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Jackie Sawiris, Sydney Pollack, Todd Field, Sky du Mont, Marie Richardson, Thomas Gibson, Vinessa Shaw, Rade Serbedzija, Togo Igawa (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
Tom Cruise stars as Bill Harford, a doctor who becomes obsessed with a sexual fantasy that his wife, Alice (Nicole Kidman), confesses to him. Although the fantasy (involving a naval officer) occurred only in Alice's mind, Bill can't get it out of his own head; his obsession leads him through a series of potential sexual encounters, each one surrounded by the specter of death. His whole world threatens to unravel as he falls deeper and deeper into a web of mystery, lies, and deceit. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (13)
These shut eyes truly burn the viewer, and most importantly, mature within them. It may have been a long time since I saw the film, but the provocative feeling of being present at the ritual or the paranoid thoughts of Bill still remain. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman are brilliant, and Stanley Kubrick's construction of atmosphere with the help of minimalist musical accompaniment is also exceptional.
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Heavy calibre. As a wise old saying goes, "It's not art to tame pelican once, but to ride it" (okay, not that old), and I don't know of a better film that could so flawlessly put that into practice. The story, brimming with sexuality, keeps you in check the whole time, and you not only can't let go under the weight of the hypnotic dialogues and atmosphere, but you won’t even want to. What is the story about? About unfulfilled desires in life, about a crisis of sexual identity, about the nature of the universe? I can’t say, and honestly, I don’t care, because when someone can so grandly captivate you with the very tone of the narrative and delight you with the most amazing filmmaking art in history, you don't even want to dig deeper into that captivating splendour. The best imaginable epitaph for a brilliant artist and visionary. The erotic séance sequence is more suspenseful and thrilling than the vast majority of horror films ever made. Bravo!
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I had my eyes really wide open, but the film failed to win me over. Yes, it’s technically precise, it couldn’t be otherwise with Stanley Kubrick, Cruise and Kidman were perfect, the cinematography was impressive and the musical score was evocative in places (the simple piano notes really worked and fit the atmosphere), BUT… there was no emotional or intellectual experience for me. The film is very cold and shallow in its message. It's also possible that I misunderstood it, and I don't really care in this case. I'm not sorry that I wasn't invited to the Kubrick’s last party this time, because I have fond memories of the previous ones. So Arrideverci! Sir, I have enjoyed all your creative life.
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Unlike the rest of his filmography, Kubrick's latest film was controversially received. Remarkably often, five-star enthusiastic reviews full of superlatives are alternated with two-star reviews, where displeasure with the film's sexual openness and disgust with the vulgarization of the subject of romantic relationships prevail. I won't take either side in the dispute. The truth is that Eyes Wide Shut impressed me noticeably less than Kubrick's other dramas. It's not that his venture into the world of desire didn't evoke any feelings or questions in me, but they were sins committed in different places and of a different kind than the director intended. The bored, fresh widow (already a much worn-out topic these days) Nicole Kidman doesn't evoke sinful desires in me. Her beauty is the detached beauty of a runway model, not that of a sensual woman inciting sinful thoughts. Beauty and erotic allure are less related than commonly believed. Alice's flirtation with the aging beau at the party doesn't come off as erotic, but rather awkwardly lascivious. Alice and Bill's relationship is not driven by sexual fantasies and is instead a study of marital alienation. Kubrick should learn about desire, passion, and pleasure from Polanski. Animality belongs to desire, playfulness to eroticism. However, the game that Bill unknowingly enters into feels strange, overstrained, and overconstructed after three sexual revolutions. I don't even understand how Bill identified the masked beauty from the party with the dead woman in the morgue, and I don't understand many other things either. If anything, the film sparked an interest in the source material by Arthur Schnitzler in me. I will be wiser after reading it. My overall impression is 65%, with the understanding that my review is aided by Kubrick's traditional ability to work with images and master the technical aspect of the work.
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I was waiting to watch this movie for an awfully long time. And when it finally happened, I had a hard time to accept its poetics for the first twenty minutes of the movie. The storytelling is slow and intensive but after half an hour it gets faster and it turns into a decent psychological flick with a mysterious atmosphere of 90s thrillers. After all I have to admit it was pretty clear that this is Stanley Kubrick’s film. Sometimes I felt I was not watching Eyes Wide Shut but The Shinning sequel. The camera shots or an intensive piano music confirmed that this film is again a completely unique experience for the audience. The end could have been a bit more daring and it didn’t have to end with simple ‘fuck’ but otherwise it was great. True Kubrick. It’s hard to find similar directors nowadays…
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