I'm going to throw out a bold statement. Eyes Wide Shut is the most under rated film of Stanley Kubrick's career. I've heard all of the complaints. You know, the people that say he was catering to the two married, big name stars and that he let his film suffer because of it. I don't by that for one minute. The film isn't two and a half hours of Tom Cruise trying to get laid. That's how most people see this film. It's a morality tale. It's a pro monogamy piece crafted in a way that only Kubrick could conjure up.
The film stars Tom Cruise as Bill Harford, whose very name symbolizes the American everyman. He's a well to do doctor in Manhattan who hob nobs with the well to do and living the American dream with his family on Central Park West. Nicole Kidman plays Bill's wife Alice, a stay at home mom that catches the attention of rich, distinguished men at these parties that Bill has to hob nob at.
The central point that the entire film pivots on is Bill's dated way of looking at his wife's sexuality. He sees every man that talks to her as just wanting to get in her pants and he seems to feel that she falls into the typical chauvinist category of the female wanting a stable, faithful relationship. Bill's ideas of his wife are turned upside down one night after a some joint smoking when she lets him know that those carnal instincts that he feels are men only territory are also a woman's and proceeds to tell him the story of lust she felt for a Navy officer while they were on vacation and the fact she would have given up their life for one night with him. This revelation pushes Bill into a night of debauchery that ends up pushing not only his life, but the lives of his family to the brink.
Now I know that this comparison is going to raise some eyebrows, but the second act of the film is essentially Kubrick's own version of Porky's and American Pie. Bill is own the prowl for sex. He wants sex outside of his marriage and he follows numerous avenues to get it, but is blocked one right after another. It's a night of him teased to the breaking point and having it suddenly taken away. He has no discretion and no respect for how this may effect his families future. All he sees is the image of his wife being ravaged by some guy in a Naval uniform. The adventures of Bill's night go from the scuzzy back alleys of prostitutes to the revelation of a large, sexual fiesta that is akin to a 12 year old boy stumbling onto a Playboy magazine- pure sexual wonder and amazement.
Now I called this a morality tale. It is most certainly one, because after his night is over Kubrick throws at us what I can only describe as The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (a title taken from a Roger Waters concept album dealing with a man dreaming about infidelity). The third act of the film is basically showing Bill what his consequences were for each act he could have participated in. The chance of jail, disease, or death are presented in the final chapters that it almost feels like Kubrick borrowed somewhat from a slasher movie. It's as if Kubrick's film is telling us that there's a reason to stay faithful. Not only is it the moral thing to do, it's safer.
Kubrick's direction is the same precise, perfected presentation that you would expect from this master of his craft. He is able to make some logical look illogical because not everything in life is black and white. For the people who say he caved in to his stars with this picture, this is definitely a film were Kubrick is in complete control. This is pure Kubrick.
Kubrick has left a legacy of films that you need to watch more than once to entertain their notions and understand what they mean. It's because his films mean more than one thing. Or they don't mean anything. He leaves it for you to decide. For Kubrick, watching a movie isn't about him vomiting out a story and letting you stare blankly at it for two hours or more. His films are like your best meals of your lifetime. He wanted you to sit there and savor every morsel, to come up with your own meaning for this film or that film. His films were there to get your mind going and make you figure out what they're about. What a great chef.
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