A Week of Kubrick - Day 3: Eyes Wide Shut

It's day 3 of "A Week of Kubrick" and so far I've taken a look back and rewatched Full Metal Jacket from 1987 and Lolita from 1962. Today's movie was the last film Kubrick ever made and was actually released shortly after his death. The film is, of course, 1999's Eyes Wide Shut. 

1999 is often considered one of the great years in the history of cinema with films like The Matrix, Fight Club, American Beauty, The Green Mile, The Sixth Sense, and Magnolia all coming out that year. Kubrick's final directorial outing is among those memorable films that closed out the 90's.

The film stars Tom Cruise as Dr. Bill Harford and Nicole Kidman as his wife Alice. It starts out simple enough with the two attending a Christmas party where they are both seen by each other flirting with other guests. The next evening while having an argument Bill receives a call about a patient of his passing away, and this is really what sets off a chain of events that drives the whole film; When Bill visits the dead man's daughter she tries, unsuccessfully, to seduce him. On the way back home Bill engages a prostitute but changes his mind at the last second. After that he notices an old college acquaintance, Nick, is playing piano at night club he decides to go inside. The two start up a conversation but are quickly interrupted when Nick receives a phone call about playing piano at a secret event where everyone wears masks. Intrigued by this, Bill rents a costume and heads to the party. What he finds when he arrives is a secret society and sexual rituals. It doesn't take long for the members to realize that Bill is an unwelcome outsider. They kick him out of the party and basically tell him to forget the whole thing. Of course he doesn't, and the rest of the film mostly revolves around the events of that night.

 It's a film of mystery and intrigue, all the while maintaining a sort of dream-like quality as Christmas lights give so many scenes a warm glow. While I don't think many would consider it one of Kubrick's best, it's still a solid film that is well acted and beautifully shot.
I give Eyes Wide Shut a 4 out of 5.