EYES WIDE SHUT
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
The late Stanley Kubrick had a gift for laying raw our emotions in a way
that could make us quite uncomfortable as we examine our normally
suppressed feelings. In A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, he forced us to look deep
within our souls and consider our true feelings about violence. In
other films like DR. STRANGELOVE and FULL METAL JACKET, the subject was
militaristic patriotism.
In EYES WIDE SHUT, writer and director Kubrick tackles a subject,
sexuality, which American audiences aren't used to considering
seriously. Although films like THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY and
AMERICAN PIE use sex for comedic purposes and X-rated films are
available for explicit sexual fantasies, most movies avoid any serious
treatment of sexuality. Americans, after all, are quite comfortable
with movie murder but much less so with cinematic sex. The MPAA, for
example, is happy to award a film an R when human beings are shown
hacked to death. On the other hand, explicit lovemaking is certain to
run the risk of the dreaded NC-17.
Real-life married couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman spent almost 2
years under Kubrick's tutelage during the making of EYES WIDE SHUT. He
taught them how to take the risk of completely letting go of their egos
and inhibitions. Normally cocky Cruise, for example, plays a man who
rapidly loses control as he finds himself sucked into a sexual
whirlwind. Kidman, known for her perky humor and striking good looks,
plays a woman obsessed by unfulfilled, adulterous, sexual desires.
Cruise and Kidman play a wealthy, married couple named Dr. Bill Harford,
a general practitioner, and Alice Harford, a currently unemployed art
gallery manager. His lucrative Manhattan practice means that they move
in the best circles. Along with their lovely daughter, they appear to
form a model family -- in all senses of the word "model."
As the story opens, the Harfords are off to a large, lavish Christmas
party hosted by one of Bill's superrich clients, Victor Ziegler (Sydney
Pollack). At the party, two luscious, young women hit on Bill, while,
in the other room, a dashingly handsome, older man flirts excessively
and explicitly with a plastered Alice.
The man brings up the subject of Ovid, the poet of love as he tries
verbally to seduce Alice. She reminds him that Ovid ended up alone in
some remote area. He agrees, but points out the fun Ovid had before
then. This scene is an omen and arguably the key one in the movie, for
it poses the question of whether such risky sexual activities are worth
it, even if the price is devastatingly high.
The scene on which the story turns happens soon after the party. High
on pot, Alice reveals a truth to Bill so striking that their love is
never the same again. She confesses that she was so smitten by a Naval
officer that she glimpsed once in a hotel lobby that she vowed to
herself that she would leave her husband and daughter, if need be, for a
single night of bliss with that officer. Moreover, she still thinks
erotically of him. She claims this does not diminish in any way her
love for Bill and their daughter.
The image of his wife having sex with this stranger is something that
Bill can't shake. His waking moments are filled with daydreams of his
wife having passionate sex with the sailor. This affair that she didn't
have, but wished she did, haunts him like demons that he can't exorcise.
Once their bonds are thus shattered, he, for the first time, becomes
truly vulnerable to sexual advances from others. When he's
propositioned by a friendly streetwalker, he accompanies her home, not
quite sure if he thinks this is a good idea or not.
In a movie that's surprisingly funny at times, the hooker needs him to
place his order. "What do you want to do?" she asks with grin. After
an awkward pause, Bill smiles back at her, not knowing quite what to
say. "What do you recommend?" he finally asks as he would of the
sommelier when choosing just the right wine at one of the fancy
restaurants he frequents.
With a taste, and only a taste, of life on the wild side, his next
encounter becomes life threatening and the subject of the mystery that
makes up the body of the story. He attempts to crash an extremely
secret orgy. (The brief orgy scene is the one in which American
audiences are "spared" the embarrassment of seeing intercourse. We have
digital fig leaves in the form of extra bodies inserted in front of some
of the obviously copulating couples. These few seconds of changes keep
the movie from getting an NC-17. The rest of the world gets the
director's cut. If the characters had committed murder instead of sex,
no cover-up would have been required.)
As has been widely reported, Kidman's performance is stellar and will
undoubtedly get her at least a nomination for an Oscar. Her acting
stays right on the edge. Cruise's acting is no less impressive. His
wide, horrified eyes make the terror in his heart palpable. He's
excited about the possibilities of illicit sex and then panic-stricken
at the outcome.
Larry Smith's oversaturated, grainy cinematography depicts well the
grime that has entered the characters' heretofore-spotless life.
Jocelyn Pook's loud, staccato piano score for the film reminds us of
Bill's fear and panic, as if we can hear his heart beating out of his
chest.
The rich picture leaves us with so much left to discuss, the film's many
religious allusions being just one topic out of many.
"Life goes on," Victor lectures Bill. "It always does. Until it
doesn't. But you know that, don't you?"
Yes, life does go on for Bill and Alice, but the ground has been shifted
by the earthquake that has occurred between them. What will happen next
is undoubtedly much more complex than the last scene implies. In this
movie, to which there will most certainly not be a sequel, it is left to
audiences to decide the fate of the tragic couple. In a film that
revels in its ambiguity, the ending is the most intriguingly ambiguous
of all.
The best filmmakers provide the best questions, not the easiest answers.
It is in the not-quite-resolved conclusion that this film serves as a
fitting tribute to Kubrick's legacy. He will live on forever in our
hearts and minds.
EYES WIDE SHUT runs 2:33. It is rated R for strong sexual content,
nudity, language and some drug-related material and would be fine for
teenagers only if they are older and mature.
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Have I seen this movie: Yes
And what did I think: Review coming soon!
