Year:
1999
Studio:
Warner Brothers
Movie:
3/5
DVD:
2/5
Teaser
William (Tom Cruise) and Alice (Nicole Kidman) Hartford are a Yuppie
couple living in New York with their daughter Helena. William is a
young doctor with a thriving practice while Alice was an art gallery
manager but is currently unemployed. They're a beautiful couple and
happily married for nine years. They love each other very much.
Or do they? One night after a party thrown by William's friend and
patient, Victor Ziegler (Sydney Pollack), they come home, smoke a
little pot, and get ready to have sex. But instead they get to talking
and then they get to arguing. It seems William is sure that Alice would
never cheat on him, because women aren't that way. This incites Alice
to relate something that happened when they went on vacation last year.
Alice saw a man that she fell in lust with and if he had asked her, she
would have thrown it all away for one night of passion.
The relevation deeply disturbs William, who is called away to make an
emergency house call. On his way home, William can't help thinking
about Alice and her fantasy man. It leaves him wide open to a night on
the wild side that leads to a secret society dedicated to having
anonymous sex. Can William remain true to Alice, or will he succumb to
his desires?
Movie
Stanley Kubrick was a great director and this was his last film. He was
very exacting and you need to pay attention when watching his movies.
Everything that is shown has a purpose or is at least intentional.
Looks, expressions, what people are doing in the background, it's all
meticulously set up by Kubrick. That intense attention to detail is one
of his hallmark characteristics.
"Eyes Wide Shut" is a drama, a rather intense look at marriage and sex.
It's also a 2-1/2 hour movie that is very slow and cerebral which is
why it really tanked in the box office, grossing only $55 Million even
with the star power combination of Cruise and Kidman. I think people
got caught up in the rumors -- the sex and nudity and Nicole Kidman's
nakedness. But it's not a pornographic movie so there is not that much
sexiness in the nudity and once you take that titillation away it's a
much different movie than what people expected.
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But if you go
into the movie knowing that it's a serious character
drama with a bit of mystery and a rather slow pace, you may enjoy it.
The first time I saw the movie I thought it really sucked because I
don't like slow movies. This time I was more patient, paid more
attention, and was more satisfied with the experience.
Actors
Tom Cruise gets to play a serious role, which he doesn't get to do
often. His character smiles a lot whether he's being friendly or
nervous. When he turns on the charm with women it's like, yeah I can
see why women consider him sexy. Nicole Kidman gets to be playfully
drunk, righteously mad, and gets to cry and be vulnerable. It's a very
emotional role with lots of dialogue when she has screen time. I can
see why it took a long time -- about a year and a half -- to film the
movie.
DVD
The movie is in the filmed aspect ratio. It's squarish so I guess you
see more of the vertical dimension than usual. But it's not like I'd
have noticed if it didn't say it at the beginning of the movie. There
are cast and crew bios for Cruz, Kidman, and Kubrick. Why list other
cast and crew and not have any bios for them?
There's also a theatrical trailer and a couple of television
commercials. The real extras are three short interviews with Tom Cruise
(8 minutes), Nicole Kidman (17 minutes) and Steven Spielberg (8
minutes), mostly talking about the movie and Stanley Kubrick.
Recommendations
Gosh, it's hard to recommend this movie. I think it's quite good but
it's not a mainstream movie. I guess if you like the drama and acting
this is a movie for you. But I think for most people it's safer to look
elsewhere for your entertainment. |