CRUISE IN THE WRINGER (EYES WIDE SHUT)

THE LOWDOWN: Fidelio; naval officer; Nick Nightingale; orgies; dead prostitutes; Kidman naked.

WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?: Eyes Wide Shut was the first Kubrick film I saw in a movie theatre upon initial release. And I was disappointed. The movie didn't strike the right chord in me (apart for the very undressed Nicole Kidman) and I quickly forgot about it in the days that followed. I didn't even buy in in VHS or DVD (until very recently) and my only attempt to see it again resulted in falling asleep on the couch. And while other Kubricks found themselves in (un)healthy rotation around the house, Eyes was deliberately ignored, circumvented, avoided, you name it. I managed to find a second-hand copy in DVD this summer and even then I didn't get around watching it until last week. My last Kurick post hinted I would discuss A Clockwork Orange, but I believe I have been cowardly enough and it was time for me to make a stand and talk about Eyes Wide Shut instead (right on!).

To my surprise, I finally have things to say about it.

EWS is an adaptation of a novella by Austrian writer Arthur Schnitzler set in Vienna at the turn of the century. Of course, Kubrick changed it for a more contemporary setting (i.e. present-day New York). From what I could gather, adapting Schnitzler had been a Kubrick pet project for some time.

Dr. Bill Harford is a wealthy, respected MD living in New York with his wife, Alice, and their daughter. One evening, after a party, Bill and Alice have an argument. As a result of that argument (about men's lust, if you must know) Alice reveals that, wouldn't you know it, women have desires too. In fact, Alice reveals that last year she totally lusted for a naval officer staying at the same hotel as the Hartfords, and though nothing happened Alice just can't keep that officer out of her mind. Shaken by this revelation, Bill somewhat decides to get even by committing adultery (for real). From then on, things get very bad very fast.

For one thing, it's impeccably made. Nothing's out of place here, and, as usual, Kubrick left no stone unturned as far a cinematic perfection is concerned (unless those stones needed not to be turned in the first place). The soundtrack is also fantastic, the Latin chants in reverse during the orgy scenes is very different, yet very striking, and favourably compares with his work with Wendy Carlos. The use of classical music (a Kubrick mainstay since 2001) is also judiciously chosen. The actors give their all (yes, even Tom Cruise) and the subject matter is different, yet completely in keeping with Kubrick's preoccupations (more on that later).
So what's wrong with it?

One thing that really bugged me when I first saw it is how totally self-referential the entire film is. In fact, Kubrick gives us a complete run down of...well, of everything Kubrick did previously. Given that he passed away a few days after completion, I get the feeling Kubrick was in for a good "summing up" before his demise. In that respect, the film commands a good deal of indulgence (but that's assuming Kubrick knew he was dying and that EWS was made in complete knowledge that it would be his last film. Such arguments are very risky to make. OK, we don't really know how he died, and how long Kubrick knew about any  serious health issues. Yet, any health issues would have probably not allowed him to take up a movie project at that point so...on the other hand, even if he hadn't died, Kubrick was very old, so making another movie after this would not have happened, given how long it takes him to shoot something). The self-references are both subtle and obvious. So here's a quick list:

1. Ziegler's party: the sets and lightning oddly recalls the interiors of the Overlook Hotel, particularly the Gold Room where Jack meets Lloyd the Bartender and Grady. The tracking shot s of Bill and the two girls are also similar to the camera movements of that film.
2. Some of the music at Ziegler's party is remarkably similar to the music played by the orchestra at the Overlook's 4th of July ball.
3. Walking the streets of New York, Bill is verbally abused by a gang of young, similarly-dressed hoodlums (Droogs anyone?, though if it had been, they would have no doubt beaten and robbed poor Bill).
4. The orgy: the sets and costumes are a call-back to the era portrayed in Barry Lyndon. The set design is also like the 17th century room at the end of 2001.
5. ...And the people dancing are also a call-back to the 4th of July ball at the Overlook. 
6. The prostitutes at the orgy behave in a very ritualistic way, in fact they are no more than "objects" to be used by anyone there as they see fit, as if the mannequins of the Korova Milkbar have come to life. Speaking of which, a valet is used as a stool for a couple in full "action" (as noted by Tim Kreider). 
7. Kreider also notes that masks and mannequins are a recurring Kubrickian motif. 
8. Kreider also notes that "fidelio", the orgy password, is the title of an opera by Beethoven. Alex's favourite composer. 
9. When Bill is brought before the "speaker of the House", all of the guests are assembled in a circle and the Speaker himself is inside a wreath of light, darkening everything around him just like the War Room at the Pentagon. Likewise, both scenes do not bring good news.
10. When Bill visits Domino's apartment, he declares it "cosey", a similar term used (also ironically) by the Torrances to describe their living quarters at the Overlook. Both sets are also similar in configuration. 
11. When Bill goes to see Mandy's body, he is told the morgue is at level C, room 114 (CRM-114 anyone?).
12. The mask that magically appears on Bill's pillow recalls the ball "magically" thrown at Danny to lure him into Room 237.

 Kubrick was never averse to the self-reference game, however he was a bit more subtle in his previous films. Kubrick's film techniques are also very well known by his fans, which are on full display here.

The big question is "what's this movie all about?". Kubrick was always an open-ended director, never giving direct answers to the viewers, preferring to let them figure it out for themselves. For my part, frustration seems to be the running theme of the movie. Alice Harford has been dominated lately by thoughts of unfaithfulness and a strong desire to sexually humiliate her husband. Bill attempts to get even, first by  sleeping with a prostitute and next by infiltrating an orgy for the rich and powerful. He is thwarted on both occasions, first (ironically) by a telephone call from his wife, and secondly by his status as an intruder.

Later on, Bill tries to find out what happened to the woman who "sacrificed" herself so he could leave the orgy unmolested. First, he goes back to mansion, however he is handed a letter by a silent manservant telling him to "piss off or else". His next "clue" is the newspaper article mentioning Mandy's death. Mandy, the nude woman he saved from an OD at Ziegler's party. Mandy, the nude woman who offered herself to the tender mercies of whoever runs the orgies. He examines the body but finds no significant clues, leaving his questions largely unanswered. Next, Bill tries to track down Nick Nightingale, his old school friend who introduced him to the party but he is told the pianist was "escorted" by strange men looking like's he's been beaten up for his indiscretion.

Bill's confrontation with Ziegler offers no real answers. Ziegler reassures Bill that Mandy's death was unrelated to the incident at the orgy, her sacrifice being merely a mise en scène to scare Bill away. Furthermore, he implies that nothing unseemly happened to Nick and the musician has safely returned to his wife and kids. None of these explanations satisfy Bill in the very least, yet he has no choice but to accept them, if only to get Ziegler and his people off his back. Ziegler, of course, does not offer any definite proof to back up his version of events. And Bill is definitely not in any position to demand any. So, his quest for the truth remains largely unfulfilled. The only "real" thing Ziegler says are the threats against Bill if he persists in his investigation.

And then there's the Harford couple's issues. Alice is clearly dissatisfied with her husband, and he has difficulties to cope with a wife whose only thoughts are to humiliate and debase him. At the end, Alice reassures Bill that she still loves him, yet how can we believe a woman who laughs her ass off when dreaming of having sex with hundreds of men in front of her husband, and let's not forget that naval officer who so obviously tickled her fancy. And yet Bill attempted to repay imagined adultery with actual unfaithfulness. While he was very obviously flirting with the two girls, his wife was fending off the advances of a very sophisticated "player", wielding her wedding ring as a shield. Nothing happened with the officer, and the hundreds of men she was making love to were unreal, while Bill's fling with a prostitute and the orgy was all too real. Which brings to my mind an age old question: can we punish someone for "thinking" about doing something bad without having the person in question actually committing that thing for real?

2001 for me is the beginning of Kubrick's mature period. A film which has confounded critics for 45 years. A film which offers every sort of questions imaginable without any definite answers. Eyes Wide Shut closes Kubrick's work very much the same way (if in a much less metaphysical sense), another labyrinth to lose the viewers within.