Eyes Wide Shut - Lilith Likes to Watch

---

Title: Eyes Wide Shut
Year: 1999

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Synopsis: After Dr. Bill Harford’s wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings – and quickly discovers that he is in over his head. - via Letterboxd.com

Lilith's Notes: I've tried to watch this movie four times. I was successful only twice.

Buy: Amazon 

---

"Fidelio"

Many things came together to make this review a reality.

A few months back I got into a discussion on Bluesky about whether or not Eyes Wide Shut is a good movie. It’s going to be on Criterion Channel, so of course it’s good, right? It’s not like I haven’t previously established that we here at Lilith Likes to Watch don’t think the Big CC is necessarily a mark of entertainment, just art and beauty.

Art is subjective, and just because you or I do not like something doesn’t make it bad, it’s just not for us.

That was the first thing.

The second thing was the release of the modern erotic drama Babygirl, starring Nicole Kidman. You see, I was there for the Eyes Wide Shut hype, how talking heads were titillated and scandalized by the idea of then husband and wife Cruise and Kidman appearing nude on screen together. So, I wanted to revisit her naked presence that was so startling way back when.

Third, over the many years that this blog has been around, Kage and I have tried to watch this movie three times, and had never managed to finish it. But we were going to finish it now, damnit. Nothing could stop us this time.

Triumphant, we did indeed finish the film.

And about an hour later, I had completely forgotten that we watched anything.

Many things can be said about the movie, but there are two irrefutable truths: Eyes Wide Shut is beautifully crafted and Eyes Wide Shut is impenetrably obtuse.

Some people call it a comedy, some call it a drama. Perhaps it's a story of classism, because no matter how much money Bill (played by Tom Cruise) spends, he still doesn’t belong in this echelon of decadence and danger, nor will he ever. Because if he did, he would have already been there. It’s not like Bill doesn’t know other horrible secrets hidden by the rich elite.

Here’s what I do know: Kubrick had been trying to get this movie made since the 70s. It’s an adaptation of a novella called Dream Story, and it captured Kubrick so completely that this was an absolute labour of love and passion, all of which is visible on screen.

This movie is visually stunning. The use of lights and colour, fabric and texture, the holiday lights, the wet city streets, the satin bedding, the feathers. If you don’t understand what the movie is trying to communicate, you can at least marvel at the style of it. Some might say that’s a cop out but, no, that’s artistry. Film is a visual medium and the pictures moving on screen are the sexiest thing about this failed orgy of the bourgeoisie.

Next year, Dream Story will celebrate its centenary. When one considers that the book is 100 years old, the film’s weird, old time-y how dare a woman have fantasies, this destroys my entire world and makes me feel inadequate as a man. I need to fuck someone to feel better vibe makes far more sense.

Maybe that’s the point? Maybe Eyes Wide Shut is trying to show how stupid that line of thinking is, and where it gets you?

I don’t know. I just don’t know.

Eyes Wide Shut was impactful for its time but, in a world where 50 Shades is mainstream, the shock value leaves it as nothing more than a pretty but plodding marital issue movie with a subplot about how the rich doctor comes to realize he's not rich enough to be part of a high-society sex cult.

You can get the same effect by watching some music videos and you’d be just fine.

Best Moment: Nicole Kidman's ass and bedroom attire. She is a stunning woman.

Worst Moment: The movie purposefully keeps the viewer at a distance and that isn't a fun viewing experience. Don't shut out the voyeurs. 

LILITH'S SCORE: 2/5

Until next time, my voracious voyeurs. I’m Lilith, and I’m always watching.