Eyes Wide Shut
Starring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Sydney Pollack Directed by Stanley Kubrick Running Time: 2 hours 39 minutes
(Warner Brothers)
Stanley Kubricks last film, Eyes Wide Shut is a odd drama which could turn into a unlikely money maker due to the presence of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. The two play married couple Bill and Alice Harford. During a pot induced argument, Alice admits to Bill that she nearly cheated on him with a sailor. Bill is shocked by the statement, and sets about on a odd trip through New York while thinking about sexual and moral politics. He also stumbles across a mysterious secret society.
Kubricks career hasn't always be perfect, with unfulfilling movies such as The Shining, and the pretty but empty Barry Lyndon. Of course, he's made classics such as Dr. Strangelove and Full Metal Jacket. Eyes Wide Shut is a mixture of both Kubricks best and worst: the plot and characters are unsatisfying, but the look and feel of the film are so carefully crafted it makes the film entertaining to watch.
The film has a strange, dreamlike aura which helps it immeasurable. The deliberate grainy look Kubrick gives to the film makes it seem dreamlike, with lights looking brighter than bright, and the majestic sets, especially in the secret society headquarters, are a joy to watch. The direction is also faultless, with nice zooms, cut aways and fade in, and is all largely seamless. There's also an appropriate soundtrack, featuring a eerie collection of tunes, although the piano solo which makes itself unwelcome during some of the more dramatic scenes is rather grating and atmosphere defeating.
Another pleasant surprise with Eyes Wide Shut is the strength of the main cast, especially Tom Cruise. Although Cruise gave a nice performance in Jerry Maguire, it wasn't particularly demanding, and it took Cuba Gooding Jnr to give the film any bounce. But Eyes Wide Shut centres heavily on Cruise's character, and it takes Cruise to carry the film. Thankfully, h can, and he gives a sterling performance as the troubled lead man. Nicole Kidman, although featuring heavily during the start of the film, is slowly pushed out of the plot. This is shame, as her performance is certainly, well, 'off centre.' She's either stoned or drunk during most of the film, which gives her an opportunity to over emphasise her emotions. There's a delicious scene where a Hungarian flirts with her, and her performance as she goes giddy eyed over him is a joy to watch. Her pot-induced argument is also bizarrely funny. Sydney Pollack gives solid support as a friend with a strange agenda, and Todd Field is fun as a grinning piano player who gets Tom Cruise into trouble with the secret society.
The plot and characters themselves, however, are a little unsatisfying. Firstly, it is somewhat hard to work out some points of the plot. Although Kubrick explains the main plot with voice overs and flashbacks, other plot elements are introduced and thrown away with no real explanation. Seeing as Kubrick had three years to strengthen up the plot, it's a little disappointing. Some of the characters are a little two dimensional, and Nicole Kidman suffers terribly from the plot mechanics due to the stories insistence of centring on Cruise. The script, written by Kubrick and Frederic Raphael, is deliberately slow, if a little too slow, and never really exciting. Occasionally, it just meanders on a bit.
One last note: those watching Eyes Wide Shut for the sexual content will most likely be disappointed. Unless you worship Nicole Kidman, the film is curiously unerotic. Perhaps Warner's should of advertised the other merits of the film rather than the sex.
Eyes Wide Shut is a fitting movie to end Kubricks career. It's no embarrassment, it's not perfect, it sums up what was great and not so great about Kubrick. This review is not truly accurate: it will probably take multiple viewings to truly understand what is going on here. But as many people will only see this once, the verdict is: Eyes Wide Shut is a interesting, somewhat overlong drama with enough style to keep it going.
RATING=*** OUT OF *****
A David Wilcock Review ©1999
DAVID WILCOCK david.wilcock@btinternet.com Visit the Wilcock Movie Page! http://www.wilcock54.freeserve.co.uk
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