The film is, first and foremost, a Kubrick movie.
Harford is as uncomfortable as the audience, slipping deeper into the films hidden worlds.
Of course, much of the controversy stemmed from its explicit sexual themes and unsettling atmosphere.
But it wasnt just sex and mood that setEyes Wide Shutapart.
The film wasn’t the action-heavy charisma bomb most Cruise fans expected.
It also wasn’t the straightforward narrative Kubrick had previously explored in films likeFull Metal JacketorThe Shining.
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Instead,it was acryptic and provocative film that demanded patience and post-viewing reflection.
Critics debated endlessly over its meaning was it about the fragility of trust in relationships?
A critique of the elite and their secretive power circles?
Eyes Wide Shut is a 1999 drama mystery directed by Stanley Kubrick centering on a Manhattan doctor who goes to unexpected lengths to please his wife after she admits she was unsatisfied and almost had an affair a year earlier. Eyes Wide Shut stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as husband and wife.
A fever dream exploring suppressed desires?
Regardless,Eyes Wide Shutsurvived its early criticisms and is now recognized as a masterpiece.
In 2022, online film hub Indie Wire even crownedEyes Wide Shutas the best film of the 1990s.
That same year, he delivered a completely different yet equally compelling performance in Paul Thomas AndersonsMagnolia.
Eyes Wide Shut stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as husband and wife.
