This is quite the strange ending to my Kubrick watch through. A lot of people really forget about this one, or hate it. I have to say, it is a good movie but not even close to Kubrick's previous 11 films. I really wish he had started on A.I. before this one, and ended on that kind of note instead.
The first 45 or so minutes I really like. We open with seeing their marriage status, and how it can be influenced easily by their actions. I think this is the main goal of the film; to show us the complexity of marriage. What will they do to please each other? Anger each other? We find out, but certainly in a crazier way than you'd anticipate.
The story is not the problem. The main problem is pacing. After that first act, the film slows down tremendously. Not just in plot movement, but in dialogue. The people I watched with and I started making the joke early about how people always repeat each other in this film. "I think they talk too slow." "You think they talk too slow?" "I think they do." Oh, but I didn't put enough spacing between those quotes to really get you to understand the time.
This is all summed up strongly in climax scene. The dialogue is sooo slow with major spaces of silence. The actions of the characters is sooo boring and repetitive. People move just to move. It feels like a high school play. It makes no sense to me that this was shot by Kubrick. Most of the film feels like him, but this one scene really bothers me.
Hell, maybe I'm supposed to feel what Tom Cruise is feeling. I mean, I do feel like joining Scientology now.
Simply one of the best movies ever made...the only flaws are the narrative sequences. They need to be cut for an absolutely perfect movie.
For a 2hr 30 film this feels strangely undercooked.
I got the strong sense that scenes were storyboarded but the cast told to improvise the dialogue. It results in a lot of long pauses and stilted conversation as the actors run permutations of responses in their heads, most likely. It felt almost play-like at times.
As for the story, it is problematic because there's little resolution to a lot of mystery. spoilers - Why is every woman looking at Tom like he's a sex god... Is it an elaborate dream? Has Nicole's character been to the event and was she one of the masked women?
Regardless of all this, the main question should be "is the resoution satisfying?" and the resounding answer is "no". The follow-up then is "was the journey worth it?" and I have to say "Probably not"...
if I was Tom and Nicole and spent 2 years on this ... I'd be pissed, truthfully.
6/10
Interesting film. Took me over 20 yrs after if was released to finally view it. There were lots I liked (Cruise's performance), the score, his reactions to how everyone treated him...and then there was the seemingly endless between scenes moments. A lot of meandering which can be okay, but lost me a few times. Good, but different than what I expected. 7.3 on a Kubrick scale.
A highly occult film that shows the horrors of an elitist satanic society.
It felt very drawn out
Eyes Wide Shut
Last work of the genius of Stanley Kubrick, Eyes Wide Shut shows us a New York that, despite the Christmas period, is very dark. The couple, played by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, seems initially happy and carefree, until the wife does not confess to her husband her sexual temptation that she had with a young naval officer. Shaken by the events just told, Bill enters a crisis and decides to throw himself into an adventure that could bring him very serious consequences.
A film that talks about the sexual obsession of today's society, made up of every single individual who has his or her own hidden fantasies, through a maniacal symbolism (as one would expect from Kubrick) that will not be possible to identify with a single viewing of the film, and that will allow us to understand even better the true meaning of the film and even who is the man dressed in red at the party.
I would say that the highest point of the film is definitely the scene when Bill goes to the villa where there is a masked cultic party, accompanied by a disturbing soundtrack. Every single shot and dialogue present throughout the party sequence is perfect. One of the best things I've ever seen on screen.
However, I find that at a certain point, the film begins to slow down, unnecessarily lengthening the film. Some of the dialogue is superfluous, unnecessary, scenes that could very well have been shot in less time and would have had the same impact on a plot level. Let's say that the film could have easily lasted 20-30 minutes less.
But it's still an amazing film that kept my attention fixed on the screen.
8.5/10
This may be the Christmas present you didn't ask for, but it's the Christmas present you didn't need, as well.
A first time watch for me, and I was lucky enough to see it on the big screen.
Personally I found Nicole Kidman acting drunk / high a distraction that clouded Kubrick's vision, and the concept that they let Dr Bill go only to kill a woman in his place, yet they still expect him not to worry about what happened to everyone a tad unrealistic.
Seriously, if they really wanted him to keep mum, there was an easy and permanent solution. Accepting a substitute sacrifice for him just says, "We care more about just killing anyone than we do about keeping these meetings a secret."
That said, the scene at the house was a real treat, and this is still my favorite Christmas movie.
This movie didn't quite work for me, which is disappointing because I really like most of Kubrick's movies. It's too long and way too slow. The acting is good and the cinematography is good but the plot is lacking. I get that it's not about the plot so much as the meaning of marriage and faith but I wanted to know more about that masked sex cult. As it is right now this is one of my least favorite Stanley Kubrick's films. Maybe I will give it a rewatch in a couple of years and like it better.
Edit: I rewatched it a couple of years later and liked it a lot better.
Starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, Eyes Wide Shut is a controversial and provocative film from writer/director Stanley Kubrick. The story follows Dr. William Harford, whose life is endangered after he accidentally stumbles across a secret society. Kubrick’s directing is quite raw, and the pacing is terrible. Additionally, the script comes off as forced and the dialog is unnatural. However, the film is successful in creating a creepy and atmospheric tone that enhances the mystery and intrigue. Monotonous and cold, Eyes Wide Shut is a pretentious film without focus.
One of the greatest contributions to cinema, and if you don't believe Kubrick was murdered for this then your eyes are wide shut.
I never tire of watching this film.
Indeed an interesting alternative to your usual Christmas movie. Just think of the fact that the colorful lights of the Christmas trees might be actually hinting at sexual tension?
Although I hated “Eyes Wide Shut” on my first viewing ages ago, I think I am understanding it a little more as a grown-up man. In particular, I liked that it all felt like a fever dream triggered by Bill’s newly found awareness that his wife is a sentient being with animal instincts. Everyone only remembers the orgies in the second act, but I thought the first act’s focus on the impulses we are forced to repress while in a monogamous relationship deserved to be expanded a little more. I don’t mind the plot imploding in a purposely anticlimactic manner, yet it felt like it was all resolved as a one-night odd experience without connecting to the premise made in the first act.
Tom Cruise da stallion. Banging hoes, joining sex cult. Tom gone wild sheeyit. DAMN!
First thoughts just fresh from finishing this: this film would have benefited so much from more Nicole Kidman. The scenes where she gets to shine are the undeniable highlights of Eyes Wide Shut and the little glimpses into female visions of sexuality we get when her character is given a voice are the most interesting aspects of the film’s thematics and narrative.
It’s a great movie about sexuality, desire, sex and power. I’m just not a fan of Tom Cruise and all the gratuitous objectification of women. I realise that might be a simplistic read, but there’s no doubt male directors enjoy using their movies to satisfy sexual fantasies, much in the same way those social elites used hoods and masks, a palace, and a Beethoven opera.
With Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick's final film, it is impossible to definitively sort out what it all means (temptation, sexuality, rejection, etc) and it's probably best to leave it to the individual viewer to pull from it what they will. What is important about the movie are the visuals, and there are few filmmakers who have a better grasp than Kubrick of the fact that cinema is a visual medium. Beautifully composed images, rich symbolism, lengthy and well-choreographed shots, and a stunning color palette make the film a visual feast, as one would expect from a director like Kubrick, a great American auteur.
Story: 7/10...Slow pacing and meandering walkabouts that visit the same places twice detracts from the interesting snapshot of marriage and vulnerability.
Dialogue: 8/10...Good script, but very...very...ve...ry slow delivery.
Performances: 8/10...Cruise doing "Drama Tom" is less believable than "Fun Tom" but Kidman is fantastic and supporting case is good.
Misc.: 7/10...Nothing spectacular with settings, camerawork or editing but definitely touched by an artist.
Overall: 7/10...great effort for most directors but near the bottom of the list for Kubrick's body of work.
Incredible, suspenseful, thrilling and surreal. A film exploring the complex human nature of desire and one's need for self-discovery. a fascinating story told via amazing cinematography.
Tom Cruise just walking down the street is enough for me.
Really dissapointed with this one..Too slow and boring most of the time.It could be one hour less at least..5.5/10 expected wayyy more...
Truly great filmmaking, considering it took 400 days of filming. The New York scenes shot on a stage still look flawless. An insight into the secret societies of our age. Also dealing with the inherent jealousies a relationship can endure.
Really fuckin weird. The Sex cult is weird but there's a lot of tits
Honestly I'm still having a hard time understanding this movie, from the beginning to the end when I was watching this movie my mouth opened and I kept scratching my head, too bad that kubrick died before he can fully explain this movie. the air and aura are mystical and bleak, subtle yet significant symbolism scattered troughout the movie, cryptic dialogue and the perplexing cult ritual scene however no tangible answer at the ending. too many critics and conspiracy theorists linked this movie with ancient actual secret society but nevertheless kubrick probably wanted to show something that entice audience's curiosity and comprehension so people can enjoy this movie with different approach, great movie though but weird....
last movie from Kubrick that i can't believe it was rarely
One of the weirdest films I've ever watched. I loved it.
(By the way, thank God he is a very wealthy doctor).
Shout by Matthew Luke BradyBlockedParent2019-12-25T12:38:58Z
Forget Die Hard. This is a Christmas movie.
Change my mind.