MOVIE REVIEWS Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

• Directed by Stanley Kubrick
• complete credits: see IMDb entry

• Review

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Simply a Masterpiece

Rating: 10 of 10        

What could have been expected from the trailers, from magazines and newspapers, all of those things in relation to this both controversial and highly anticipated film, Kubrick's last, has been a deception, showing only parts of the whole and creating a certain expectation which would do the movie grave injustice - and on the other hand, play right into the hands of this film. This is no sex film, no erotic thriller, no romance; it contains elements of those and shapes them into something altogether different - but into what? I just know one thing: It scared the living shit out of me.

*** SPOILER WARNING *** Please, for your own good, do not read any further into this one when you haven't yet seen the film.

Horror is inherent in everything I've seen from Kubrick so far; and again, horror does not mean slasher. Horror means horrere, to frighten. And this is one of the many facets of this movie. But it develops slowly, almost unnoticable. The movie starts in a relatively unscary way, almost is comedic in some elements. The first cut into chaos and darkness is when Bill is called to a medical emergency Victor has with his hooker girlfriend; the scene at first seems both unreal and too real at the same time, it disturbs both the flow of the movie and what we've firstly seen of Victor. Beyond the obvious lies a completely different reality, masked by several ways of deception. During the following conversation between Bill and Annie that evening, cracks appear in the reality of Bill's marriage, and when he leaves for another emergency, he perceives the world differently, but still isn't willing to give up his convictions. It is only when he talks to his pianist boyfriend that he really gets active, now he is willing to get his adventure. On his way, when at the costume rental shop, he again sees things surface which he wouldn't have believed before, especially when returning the costume.

The movie up to then proceded to a certain point, increased its weirdness factor step by step and still had Bill unwaveringly standing his ground. He always was able to undo the things he started, he was able to retreat, he just wanted to look, from further action he refrained because of his marriage and his convictions. This changes once he enters the masked "ball". And it is also at this point where the movie takes a dramatic turn of events, it changes into what I would describe a horror movie; although this term mightn't be applied here with general consent. Anyway; setting, music, the masks, the movements of the people, the action - all of these elements suddenly changed the viewing experience. Shocking? You could say so. The masked congregation itself is a classic element of horror - it is a secret sub-society which appears to be very powerful; any outsider is in a great danger of being deprived of his life. It is a conspiracy theory which is similar to the things seen on The X-Files, but here it is not about little green men but about sex. And suddenly, I came to realize another connection, that with David Lynch's movies, especially with the 'Twin Peaks' series, with 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me' and 'Blue Velvet'. An up-to-then innocent bystander is drawn into the realm of darkness by his curiosity (as with Agent Cooper and Laura Palmer; Donna Hayworth in the Pink Room; and Jeffrey in Dorothy Vallen's Apartment). Especially the scene in the Twin Peaks movie in the Pink Room apparently seemed similar to this. Of course, that theme is older and has a history of its own.

Bill is drawn by his curiosity into a situation he cannot solve by himself. He suddenly is surrounded by the masked crowd, paralleling Alice's dream, and he is saved by this women who had warned him earlier already. But his leaving the "party" leaves him with a feeling of guilt which will haunt him further throughout the rest of the movie, throughout the rest of his life. When he is followed and his movements being monitored, it is no coincidence that he breaks when confronted by Alice with the mask: He is broken deep inside of him already. But not even Victor could convince him otherwise. The betrayal of the seemingly best friend is also kind of an element of horror, furthermore, when this friend appears to be taking part in the deception and in the crime. The death of the woman, of Victor's hooker girlfriend, as well as the unclear future of the pianist, stand in clear contrast to what Victor is telling. This gives the thing another turn of the screw. After telling it to Alice, their lives are changed. They can only go on by ignoring it, by pushing it aside and by trying to survive anyway. Their marriage suddenly seems to be a much more complicated arrangement than before.

This is one of those movies where you cannot really believe what you're seeing. The scenery is great, the places usually infinite and vast, especially the apartments. There is no sense of claustrophobia in these rooms, not in the first parts of the movie. The scenes in the masked party are outstanding, especially when you see Bill and his savior speak - you cannot see the faces behind the masks, and when they speak, it looks really spooky or dream-like. Masks are always somewhat spooky, especially when the impression on the face depicted on the mask collides with the actions of the person. A smiling face acting in an aggressive way is quite demonic. - Kubrick's choice of actors proves to be a success; with Tom Cruise he got the perfect innocent-looking guy, and Nicole Kidman can show what a great actress she really is; and it's also nice to indeed have a married couple perform as a married couple, as it is nice to see a Christmas tree in every single scene. One controversial part of the movie is the nudity, but it is an essential part of the movie, it serves a purpose different from the obvious one. The film is for me almost undescribable in its impact, and when I drove home from the cinema I couldn't turn on the radio, I was still a bit dizzy. It's a great film to say goodbye, and with Kubrick's death the world lost one of the greatest directors of all time.

September 17th/18th, 1999