 |
 |
| Directed by Stanley Kubrick; Starring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack, Todd Field, Julienne Davis, and Vanessa Shaw |
Well we now have a new choice for best film of the year so far. Eyes Wide Shut is a mesmerizing piece of film artistry that serves as a proper end to such a director. Stanley Kubrick has proven that there really is no other American director that could enhance the film experience (I threw in the American remark because I’m still a bigger Hitchcock fan). The film is a haunting work that leaves the viewer stunned for the rest of the day, always questioning exactly what happened.
After long unconfirmed rumors ranging from Kidman and Cruise really having sex for the camera to Cruise wearing a dress, the film takes its own way, never really doing anything rumored with the exception of the orgy scene. The film more or less follows the days of jealousy that mark Dr. Bill Harford (Cruise) after his wife Alice (Kidman) admits to a certain indiscretion she once had. He goes out into New York City finding different people that entice his sexual need to get back at his wife for the jealousy that she has left him with. This trek through the city allows him to run into a old college friend who now plays the piano at a small bar. This friend Nick Nightengale (Field) makes the mistake of allowing Bill to get information on a certain party that will occur later that night. The rest of the film follows his visit and the aftermath to this party that is much like a cult get together with sex.
This is, without a doubt, the best performance that Cruise has brought to the screen. I have been an admitted nay sayer to Cruise for years only conceding that he was good in Interview with the Vampire, Jerry Maguire, and Born on the Fourth of July. This is a new top for the actor, and hopefully the beginning of him taking a new type of emotion in his performances. Still I think that in the acting department, the film is carried by two near supporting performers: Nicole Kidman and Sydney Pollack. Kidman gives an emotional power-house performance that deserves an Academy Award nomination. I found it actually interesting that Pollack was in the film, due to the fact that the film reminded me somewhat of Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives in its filming and slightly in its subject matter. Pollack shows once again that he, like Martin Scorsese, is one of the few directors that can pull their own weight acting in other people’s movies. What really makes this film mesmerizing, though, is the direction of Stanley Kubrick. His style of filmmaking is stamped on every frame of the film, from the well shot ball room dance in the beginning on into the last line of the film. He directs the film with so much care for it that any flaw at the surface is quickly excused by a later moment.
There is one thing of note on the film though, it just is not the erotic film that they tried to sell it as. I think that this is why the film is going to have a drop in sales in a week, too many people will be disappointed that there was no hot sex scene between the stars. In fact the nudity that is there (not counting that blocked in the orgy sequence) is very much like the nudity in a Peter Greenaway or a Luis Buñuel film: its not there for erotica, but for the sake of making characters. In fact the nudity is more of a fearful dread at times than a sensual moment. The moments of tenderness are only close calls like when Cruise begins to find himself in the apartment of a prostitute (Shaw). If the only interest you have in the film is for the nudity and sex, then it will probably be a disappointment. But if you are going to see a thought provoking film than it will serve as a rich and textured experience in film viewing.
Eyes Wide Shut is a fitting tribute to the greatest filmography ever.
