Eyes Wide Shut - R2 DVD Movie Review

I am a Stanley Kubrick aficionado. It all begun with "Clockwork Orange" (CO). I am absolutely entertained with the violence, the speed and the music of a movie that clearly doesn't obey standards, and risks strong political incorrectness. For those who never saw it, CO features rapes, racism, runs over, violence against oldies... and more...

Many people have disturbing readings of "Clockwork Orange"; however, my understanding of it, is that it simple is a superb, "touching" comedy, that drives the viewer to the fine frontier between irresistible and offensive situations, in a fictional context.

This always happened to me, with Kubrick movies: I end up having the greatest basic fun with them, while almost everyone else, does high Philosophy on the subjects. As expected, this too was the case with Stanley's last film - "Eyes Wide Shut" (EWS).

EWS has plenty of sex, death and narcotics. Starring Tom Cruise and his real-life-wife Nicole Kidman - two of the most physically beautiful people on Earth - Kubrick's latest has plenty of arguments for fleshy shots. It starts just by taking advantage of Nicole's (Alice Harford) body, showing her nude, unzipping a dress...

The first minutes are very high on sensuality. Alice gets naked. Alice gets dressed. Alice and Dr. William Harford (Tom Cruise) go to a high-society party. Alice gets flirted by a stranger, while drinking a bit too much, and while William "suffers" the attack of a pair of too-gorgeous-not-to-wear-make-up girls. Hormones are high, but under expensive party dresses.

Moments later, there are no dresses, as we pick William helping bring back to life a naked girl, who had been having a sexual time with the Doctor's great friend - Sydney Pollack. The girl had passed out on drugs... but oh, it is Christmas and this event is not to be known outside.

At the Harford's home, Alice confesses she has been having dreams where she has sex with another man... But her story is nothing compared to the one William will live, when trying to investigate where and how happens some orgies, where an old friend plays piano, blindfolded!

The quest for an orgy will end up badly. During this quest, the movie will resemble a perfect exercise of dark suspense, segmented on small episodes, that have substance enough to almost be independent: there is an episode where Cruise pays a prostitute; an episode where Cruise tries to run away from a man who, he thinks, is a killer; an episode of pure fun, when the good Doctor tries to rent a masquerade, very late in the night, paying a fortune for it; and, finally, the big sex party itself, where dozens of people are in for the good old fluids exchange, though nothing like that will really happen...

There is murder. There are pursuits. There is an ambiance of extreme luxury (like nothing I have ever seen before!) and a very effective script that glues you to the screen and allows you to wonder through one hundred possible endings, none of which will materialize...

I am not sure I really did understand the movie, but I loved it! Another mandatory DVD! Everything in it is Kubrick-perfect.

Stanley Kubrick died 4 days before the final cut you'll be buying on DVD.