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"Eyes Wide Shut" is likely one of the most anticipated films of the year, if not the decade. Rumors have flown freely about the sexuality on display on the screen and only aided by a theatrical trailer that made it look like a sexy romp. For a movie that revolves around the underworld of sex, "Eyes Wide Shut" is an incredibly unsexy film, existing in a joyless universe of it's own that's been built from the ground up to look like a baren, lonely version of Manhattan. Kidman and Cruise play the Harfords, a highly affluent couple living out their days in a palace of an apartment, overlooking the city with their daughter. He's a doctor, she's a former art gallery owner. The two are invited to a party by a wealthy playboy(Sydney Pollack) and proceed to watch the foundation of their marriage crack slightly from across the room as they carry on flirtations of their own under the pools of light that seem to flood the room. They return home that night and what starts off as a bit of drunken kidding about what may have happened to each other slowly spirals into a nasty little bit of jealousy as Alice(Kidman) admits to having a fantasy about a man she watched during the family vacation the previous year. The scene serves as an example of why Kidman is such an important and underused part of the film. She serves up the kind of intensity and emotion during her scenes that the rest of the film is in need of. Bill(Cruise) hits the streets of the city, lost in his thoughts about what could have happened with his wife during the previous Summer and as his thoughts grow more enraged, he finds himself deep in trouble as he not only crashes an exclusive orgy(a sequence that's just....very strange, and comes complete with odd music). "Eyes Wide Shut" doesn't exactly fly by and it's scenes like the previously mentioned party that don't help it. There's a depressing, cold air to not only this scene, but the film in general. It's not that the film feels coldly withdrawn; it's a sense of menace in the air that makes watching "Eyes Wide Shut" uncomfortable. It's as if this is a universe that exists in a vaccum where all emotions have been pulled clear. All that's left is a sort of formal gloom. The film is also a little awkward at first to analyze. Are we supposed to follow the events as seperate stories on their own? Or are we supposed to consider the whole, the grander scheme of the effects of Bill's night and who he meets. The episodes that Bill goes through seem to have an ending that never appears as the film's tales begin to blur together in some sort of strangely bland nightmare. Much of it is so surreal, it's watchable because it's simply so strange that it becomes unpredictable. Unfortunately, it also makes it hard to care about anything as the sort of dream-like nature of it all becomes slightly overpowering. When we should be caring about the details of what's going on, the film's dream-like nature constantly lulls the audience towards slumber. The intensely annoying two-note piano theme that makes an appearance in the television ads serves to wake the audience to the fact that something's happening. It makes me wish that the film had the intensity to supply its intentions; when we're supposed to be paranoid or afraid of what's about to happen next, there's no tension to lead us into it and the effect is simply that most of the film's events float by. Still, for all that I didn't care for during the film's very(verrrrrry) long two and a half hour running time, there were definitely things to appreciate. Kidman and Pollack are the only actors who seem at all lively during the film, and the cinematography and color scheme of the production have incredibly rich detail with rich reds, blues and golds flowing throughout the canvas. Overall though, "Eyes Wide Shut" spends its length seemingly hiding a greater meaning around every corner, but when we arrive, there's yet more terrain to cover before all of the loose ends and vague questions that the film presents are only slightly wrapped up by the ending. There's an uncomfortable silence to the film that seems to hang over the scenes and slither through the air in this film. It's that silence that seems to hold the elusive greater meaning. We see it in a glance, pauses between words, and we feel it on the streets as characters walk through the empty city. I never felt that I recieved the prize of the meaning of the greater whole of "Eyes Wide Shut" (and just maybe, there isn't any grand or greater meaning to be had), but I must say that it's the most effective part of the film's tone, making the simplest scenes memorably haunting and lonely, only being broken by that piano theme. As I stepped out into the city street, the noise seemed strangely comforting, the warmth of urban reality after spending the morning in haunting stillness. "Eyes Wide Shut" is a far different film than what many have been lead to think by the rumor mill about this film, and although I felt the film goes too long(sentences are frequently paced out slowly, almost word by word as if the next word spoken just might contain the meaning of life; no luck on that one.)there's enough here that moviegoers will enjoy. It's not Kubrick's best film, but it's certainly a strong final work from one of the best filmmakers of our time that certainly has its enjoyable moments. *** BACK TO THE SITE: Listing Of DVD Special Sales Back To A Guide To Current Film A List Of Current/Upcoming DVD For Sale Soundtracks For Current Films |