Eyes Wide Shut by Stanley Kubrick premiered on July 16, 1999, and initially was met with mixed reviews but gradually evolved into the legendary film over the past quarter-century. The film, with Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise in the leading roles, is a multi-layered reflection on such issues as passion, betrayal, cold marriage, and the hidden self.
The article L.A Times published an interview with Nicole Kidman who could reveal the details of shooting this film as it took a long time – six months. It took two years to complete the shoot and even post-production took as many 18 months of Kubrick's time. According to Kidman, there was no tinkering at Warner Bros after Kubrick died in March 1999, and the film that premiered on 10 February 2000 is exactly as he envisioned.
Kubrick was a perfectionist and many an example proved it including Harvey Keitel who walked in this scene 68 times before Kubrick decided he was not right for the part. Such stories go to the essence of Kubrick's perfectionism which has become the hallmark of the film's impact. Christopher Nolan was not wrong when he referred “Eyes Wide Shut” as the ‘2001' of relationship movies, a deep multi-scalar movie.
It depicts Dr Bill Harford (Tom Cruise) as he transverses New York's shadowy underground, in an anomalous, uncontrollably hypnotised state, spurred by his wife Alice's (Nicole Kidman) revelation of her lover's lustful desire. With this confession, security is pulled out from under Bill as he spends an ensuing night wandering the city and exploring the dark fringes of human experience.
Martin Scorsese wisely pointed out the initial misconception about ‘Eyes Wide Shut,' as with other Kubrick's films, such as ‘2001: A Space Odyssey' or ‘ The Shining.' The movie gradually received recognition for its fits of dreams and fantasy shown in contrast with the seemingly real world, while the peculiar and rather disturbing setting, imagery, and narrative added to the movie's mystique.
“Eyes Wide Shut” has a special significance because of its jubilee of the film's release which definitively proves that Kubrick was one of the most visionary directors, the movie is the powerful and eternal reflection on the human experience.
