Real Review - Eyes Wide Shut

Stanley Kubrick’s swan song, Eyes Wide Shut, is an apt title for this film because I could barely keep my eyes open throughout this snooze-fest. I never thought I would say it, but gratuitous nudity can be a bad thing in a film and Eyes Wide Shut is the perfect example. Usually when a film has a bad script, the director might try to spice things up with some female nudity, but here that coy technique does not work. In fact, in Eyes Wide Shut, the nudity is so un-sexual and un-titillating that I almost believe that Kubrick intended it as such.

Featuring the acting “talents” of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, Eyes Wide Shut does everything possible to thwart any emotional verisimilitude. Next to the appalling and pathetic performance by Kidman, Cruise’s role is almost acceptable. Alas, the script is so confused and the pacing of the editing is so lethargic and wayward, that no actor could pull-off a miracle and save this movie.

From what I can gather, the plot goes something like this: our hero, the good Dr. Bill Harfard, played by Cruise, and his wife, Alice,played by Kidman, are taking their relationship for granted. Alice confesses that she has a fantasy to be ravaged by many men. Dr. Bill apparently deals with this revelation by attempting to hire a hooker and, on another occasion, by attempting to join-in at a secret-society orgy. As events eventually play-out, the big lesson learned by our heroes is that they have been “sleeping” in their relationship and now are “awake” and can appreciate what they have. Ho-hum.

Though I’m sure there is some hidden message in this mess, I believe that Kubrick simply “over-thought” the plot and the results are glaringly obvious. Eyes Wide Shut is not a masterpiece, in fact it is not even a good movie. With a rewrite of the script and a lot of editing to pare down the excessive two-plus hours of the film, something good might have been realized. Despite Nicole Kidman prancing around butt-naked in Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick’s last film is totally forgettable.

Rating: 6

Source Chuck’s Movie Reviews

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