A riveting, thematically probing, richly atmospheric and just occasionally troublesome work, a deeply inquisitive consideration of the extent of trust and mutual knowledge possible between a man and a woman.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:25
Fresh:17
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: Kubrick's intense study of the human psyche yields an impressive cinematic work.
Runtime: 2 hrs 59 mins 42 secs
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Stanley Kubrick's final film is a mature, highly intelligent, thrilling masterpiece of sexual obsession and marital (in)fidelity. Tom Cruise stars as Bill Harford, a doctor who becomes obsessed... Stanley Kubrick's final film is a mature, highly intelligent, thrilling masterpiece of sexual obsession and marital (in)fidelity. Tom Cruise stars as Bill Harford, a doctor who becomes obsessed with a sexual fantasy that his wife, Alice (Nicole Kidman), confesses to him. Although the fantasy (involving a naval officer) occurred only in Alice's mind, Bill can't get it out of his own head; his obsession leads him through a series of potential sexual encounters, each one surrounded by the specter of death. His whole world threatens to unravel as he falls deeper and deeper into a web of mystery, lies, and deceit. Kubrick's film breathes with vivid blues, reds, and blacks, the threat of illicit sex and death lurking around every corner. Cruise and Kidman, who are married in real life, are utterly convincing as a happy couple suddenly forced to reexamine their faith in each other. Sidney Pollack, Todd Field, Julienne Davis, Marie Richardson, and Vinessa Shaw sparkle in minor roles. Based on the novella TRAUMNOVELLE by Arthur Schnitzler, EYES WIDE SHUT is a brilliant examination of the psychological nature of sex and marriage, of faith and faithlessness, of obsession and desire. Kubrick said that his last film (he died shortly before the film opened) was "my best film ever;" while that is debatable, there is no doubting that the film is a splendid finale to a glorious career. [More]
Starring: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack, Todd Field
Starring: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack, Todd Field, Rade Serbedzija, Leelee Sobieski, Vinessa Shaw
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Screenwriter: Stanley Kubrick, Fredrick Raphael
Producer: Stanley Kubrick
Composer: Gyorgy Ligeti, Franz Liszt, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Dmitri Shostakovich
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Reviews for Eyes Wide Shut
I kept my eyes wide open all through Eyes Wide Shut and saw more control-freak unreality than visual genius around the edges of the cluttered compositions.
Kubrick, exactly in character, has left us as the unchallengeable champion of the enigma.
As it rambles on, it makes less and less of the material, rather than more.
[Kubrick's] final, hypnotic, meticulously crafted film... hangs on something as commonplace as a husband's confession of his strange desires.
Combines all the flaws that marred Kubrick's earlier work - including a glacial pace, emotional coldness and the sudden eruption of scenes that seem to belong in a different movie.
For most people, though, a single viewing will be more than enough.
From the already famous 'mirror' love scene, played with a carnal sweetness that's rare in the brittle, cynical sexuality of film today, to the anger, fear and pain of their final confrontation, Cruise and Kidman are open and touching.
Kidman is consistently excellent. This is the most powerful role she has taken on throughout a varied career.
Mr. Kubrick left one more brilliantly provocative tour de force as his epitaph.
[O]ne of the best things about Eyes Wide Shut... is that it isn't a film of the 90s in most respects but something closer to what movies at their best used to be.
Eyes Wide Shut turns into a series of haphazard revelations that come to very little.
It's the most brilliant, most glamorous, yet subtlest movie about sexual desire and sexual jealousy.
It's a powerful movie without always, or often, being a very good one; watching it is a bit like being inside the twistings and conniptions of a control freak who longs to lose control, only to pull back tighter than ever.
Latest News for Eyes Wide Shut
May 26, 2008:
Sydney Pollack dies aged 73
Academy Award-winning director, producer and actor, Sydney Pollack, dies aged 73. More...
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May 19, 2005:
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