Once again, a Kubrick movie divides critics and audiences alike, with many of his fans acclaiming it an intelligent, misunderstood masterpiece (especially defensive as it was his last work) while others complain it is overly long and unengaging. I think if I had to choose, I would have to side with the latter. While not quite as boring as it has often been labeled, I really did not find myself too involved with the storyline at any point and although I barely noticed how long the film is, I found the ending a welcome but unsatisfying event.
After a drunken flirt with a supposedly charming (although I thought he was just plain greasy) foreigner at a glitzy Christmas party, and spurred on by a quick joint before bedtime, Alice Harford (Kidman) admits to having been tempted into thinking about having an affair with a random naval officer in the past and then tries to start an argument with her husband about the nature of infidelity and difference in attitudes between men and women about sex and jealousy. Annoyed and confused, Tom Cruise�s Dr. Bill embarks on a strange night of vengeful sexual discovery which includes a hooker-with-a-heart, a Lolita and a masked orgy. It later becomes a weak murder suspense with a limp resolution and an anticlimactic ending.
There are many intellectual discussions you could have about the ideas raised regarding marriage and affairs, but like A.I. the film doesn�t interest me enough to bother and is too weak a springboard for such a debate. There are better films which can do that and, like the idea of android rights and human�s ensuing responsibility, the concept of marital uncertainty is nothing new to cinema. Perhaps one for Kubrick fans alone. |
