Watching "Eyes Wide Shut" is like driving on a long road trip: after a while, your rear-end starts aching from sitting so long, and you have to start leaning on the side that's not totally numb yet; then one of your legs starts to fall asleep, and you begin to wonder when you'll reach your final destination. You might even yawn a couple times during this trip, despite some nice scenery. Anyway, "Eyes Wide Shut" will test your patience. It's long - longer than the alleged 2:20 running time. If you thought 2001 was long - while pressing on the fast forward button - you probably won't have the patience to sit through this movie. I endured the whole movie, and it was worth it. Despite the over-leisurely pacing, "Eyes Wide Shut" was thought provoking and well acted for the most part. What impressed me most - maybe because I'm a graphic designer - is the set and costume design and the lighting.

Kubrick has a tendency to paced his movies very slowly - sometimes painfully slow. "Eyes Wide Shut" is like one big slo-mo shot - eat your heart out John Woo. The camera rarely moves, and when it does move it moves very slowly. There are a lot of static shots where an actor - mostly Tom Cruise or Nicole Kidman - just stares into the camera looking hurt, angry, irritated, or thoughtful with the camera lingering on them. Actors move and talk like snails: very slowly. They also repeat themselves a lot too, especially Tom Cruise. There are several instances where he just repeats his previous line with a question mark. So … you … think … I'm … cheating … on … you. So … you … think … I'm … cheating … on … you? Wow! That line is not in the movie, just an example of how they talk. There are also times when a character would repeat another character's line with a question mark. After a while, I start to get impatient (and shift to the un-numbed side of my rear-end and let the other side get un-numbed). What saved this technique is that whenever something or someone does move at normal speed (or remotely fast) the effect is very dramatic. Near the end of the movie when Dr. Hartford (Tom Cruise) discovers his lost mask on his bed next to his wife (Nicole Kidman), there's a shot where he just appears in an character-less frame. It's a very dramatic shot leading to very dramatic moment. It's like the opposite of a John Woo movie. Instead of pacing a movie fast and using slo-mos to highlight or dramatize a scene, Kubrick paces his movie slowly and uses fast-motion shots to dramatize a scene.

The slow pacing also gave me time to admire the sets and costume designs, the lighting, the composition of the shots, and think about the issue of the movie: sex and identity. These elements really came together in the mask orgy party where everyone is covered with a mask and a black cloak. It's a beautiful, but ominous scene. Dr. Hartford, an intruder, seems so naked when he was finally discovered and asked to remove his mask. He seems more naked than the naked ladies with their mask on. This is the much talked about orgy sequence. It's not really that revealing. It's like watching a porno with all of the right spots conveniently covered up by cloaked people.

There's also a steamy dream sequence between Alice Hartford (Nicole Kidman) and a navy officer. This is the most explicit sex scene in the movie. Here, I'm thinking what the hell is Tom Cruise, the actor, thinking during these shoots. Another actor's doing the nasty with his wife! Or what does Nicole Kidman thinks of Tom Cruise's love scenes with other actresses. These same issues are reflected in the movie as the Hartfords discuss their fidelity. Alice Hartford asks her husband what's in his mind during breast examinations. Does he want to have sex with his patients? Dr. Hartford replies that it's just a job. I can see Nicole Kidman asking Tom Cruise similar questions in real life.

As far as the acting goes, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise both did a pretty good job - although Nicole Kidman is a little over sentimental and Tom Cruise seems too young to be a doctor.

Overall, I liked the movie despite the slow pacing. It's one of those movies where you just come out of the theatre and go "huh, what did I just see here." It takes time to digest. I would recommend the movie to film aficionados, but not the general public. It's an expensive arthouse flick.