Movie Review: Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Fun fact: this movie took 400 days to shoot. With 400 days of nothing to do, but read scripts and act. You would expect with that length of time, the movie would be even more epic than all of the Star Wars movies plus The Matrix combined. However, Eyes Wide Shut didn't exactly do that. It's not a horrible movie, it just doesn't "hit the spot". Eyes Wide Shut tells the story of character Tom Cruise who is married to Nicole Kidman. One night while taking illegal drugs, Tom's character discovers that his wife has been dreaming about this guy who she had an affair with. Tom says he is fine with it, but then he goes and tries to hook up with these prostitutes and other people who cost money. Eventually, one of his friends finds this club where he goes to play a gig, Tom goes there after getting the required clothing (a mask and costume, very creepy). In the group, guys in these masks and costumes hook up with these random girls and start "having fun". That is the plot of the movie. If you can even really call that a plot, I mean, it's more of a subplot than something that can actually support a story. Kubrick did it though, he never used to really have that subplot problem. With this one, he really struggles with it. Tom Cruise acts ok in this movie, I would take it or leave it. Nicole Kidman just read lines and pretended to be married, it wasn't awful, but there wasn't as much character development as there could have been. Overall Eyes Wide Shut is a bizzare, creepy, and long film that Kubrick himself directed. Two Stars.