You don’t often hear people saying nice things about Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick’s last film.
Yes, it does have big names: Cruise and Kidman.
Yes, it was eagerly anticipated: this came out in 1999, and since Barry Lyndon in 1975, Kubrick had made just two films (Full Metal Jacket and The Shining).
Yes, Kubrick did die just days after its release.
Cruise plays a medical doctor who learns from his wife that she has had sexual fantasies and nearly had an affair. So he decides he’d like that, ambles round Islington, sorry New York City, not much happens and then they all go to Hamleys.
It’s a pretty unsubtle film in many ways. We saw it when it first came out and my companion remarked on the clunky photography, the unsubtle use of colours and the dodgy acting, Cruise especially.
Watching it recently to remind myself what it’s like, it’s a tough watch. What it means is not clear. There are reports of hundreds of takes of particular scenes, suggesting Kubrick was worse than ever and had no clue quite what he wanted to get.
Everyone was bored and dispirited by the end.
It’s hard to criticise, because it was Kubrick’s last film. Other Kubrick films were shortened or edited after release (eg The Shining and 2001) and maybe something would have been done to help this, but it’s unlikely it would have helped.
Some people have said the film as it is is a masterpiece. We’re not agreeing with that, but see it for yourself.