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No matter how much i say this movie annoys me, i always end up watching it a couple of times a year. Maybe its time for me to just admit that i kinda like this movie. We all know the tale of stanley kubrick’s last movie that left everyone scratching their heads (especially at that ending). When Dr. Harford (Tom Cruise) cant deal with the fact that his wife (Nicole Kidman) once considered cheating on him, he tries to get back at her by going to masked sex orgy, but ends up getting in way over his head and puts his and his family’s life in danger. What annoys me the most about this movie is that if any other director shot a movie in london that was supposed to set in nyc, they would’ve gotten trashed, but because Kubrick did it, everyone (including Martin Scorsese) reached for the most bullshit excuses as to why Kubrick pulled off representing nyc with a green screen backdrop and scenic shots of the city (shot by someone else). Also, the scene where Nicole Kidman confesses her fantasy about cheating on her husband (a crucial part in the film) could have been executed so much better. I think of plenty of actresses who could have pulled off that scene much better. If anything, watch the movie because it was shot well (like any kubrick film), had a great soundtrack, and the sex orgy sequence was very good. But overall the acting was kinda flat.

“If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed”

What is Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut? Is it a psychological tale about the power of delusion derived from a sick mind? Is it an approximation to the surreal thriller created so often and so perfectly by David Lynch? Is it the story of a couple growing apart in their marriage? Is it the liberation of the intrinsic, deep and extremely animalist human desire to explore the fantasies created by lust and inevitability? Or is it, plainly and simply, the story of a man somewhat impotent who is constantly being repressed by the world around him? It certainly is all of this and so much more, much like any other Kubrick masterpiece. The dense layers that compose this work of art can only begin to be thoroughly enjoyed after a careful period of study and examination. Let’s face it, Eyes Wide Shut is one of those films that could only be made by such a cerebral, perfectionist, visionary, even neurotic, but extremely precise human being. And Kubrick made it. He studied the architecture of the mind, he went deep, deep into the psyche and translated into words and images. And how powerful, jarring and hypnotic they are. In each single frame Kubrick laughs, he sees the pleasure we get from seeing these high society people exposed in such a crude manner, trivialized with no mercy, being treated as animals exploring their desire. This Marxist approach transcends the very line of equality and it’s fascinating to see a filmmaker disguise his product with such a sense of humor, class and poignancy. The mechanics flow together with no signs of splinters grasping the crisped surface. Everything is so well thought, composed and, ultimately, recreated. In other words, Eyes Wide Shut is a vals: as it maintains the carefully constructed illusion, it is waiting for the perfect moment to release chaos and infest the far deepness of the human conscience. Whether is through the characters, the visuals, the music, or all of them as whole, there is a coherent state of discomfort and awe throughout the film (I wouldn’t dare call it a movie) that enable the metaphor and engage the magnificence of such a riveting masterpiece. Often disregarded as a “true” Kubrick work, Eyes Wide Shut is one of the director’s most mature and complex pieces, especially because it doesn’t want the audience to think that is so much more that what is being viewed. But the words, the swift movements, the intensity, the looks, the eroticism, the passion, the desperation, the confusion, the sense of perfection are features impossible to neglect or overlook. This is Kubrick’s opera. It’s visceral in the way that exposes the dream and the reality, the tangible and the intangible, the sex and the fuck, the love and the passion, the grit of despair and the touch of comfort. It’s haunting. It’s Kubrick. It’s phenomenal.

Was it a dream? Was it reality? Does it matter? “If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed”. This sentence epitomizes Kubrick’s work and there could hardly be a more perfect example that Eyes Wide Shut to illustrate it. No wonder this was Kubrick’s favorite movie.

“Fuck”

Kita melihat seorang wanita, Alice (Nicole Kidman), melepaskan pakaiannya yang backless dan berwarna hitam dengan membelakangi kita, memperlihatkan tubuhnya yang putih polos. Kamera berdiri dengan ketinggian, jarak, dan sudut yang tidak memberikan kesan erotis. Alice tahu Ia cantik dan memiliki tubuh yang indah. Dari gesturnya saat melepaskan pakaiannya, kita tahu Ia sadar akan kedua hal itu. Pencahayaan yang redup pun memberikan sentuhan sensualitas yang lembut dan hati-hati seakan-akan tidak ingin membuat apa yang kita lihat di depan mata kita itu dianggap sebagai sebuah pornografi, melainkan sebuah keindahan yang misterius layaknya hati wanita itu sendiri. Suara musik klasik juga menambah keanggunan dari shot ini. Cukup satu shot tersebut sebagai pembuka film dan kita terhisap masuk ke dalam mood dan tone film " Eyes Wide Shut" karya terakhir dari almarhum Stanley Kubrick, salah satu sutradara terbesar sepanjang sejarah perfilman.

Saya akui saya belum pernah menonton film-film Stanley Kubrick lainnya, terutama karya-karyanya yang dianggap sebagai masterpiece, seperti “2001 : A Space Odyssey”, “Dr.Strangelove”, “The Shining”, “Barry London”, dan “A Clockwork Orange” yang telah banyak memberikan pengaruh besar pada berbagai genre film. Maka, saya membuat tulisan ini dengan berdasarkan pada analisis shot by shot dan berbekal referensi dari IMDb dan Wikipedia saja.

“Eyes Wide Shut” bercerita tentang seorang dokter, Billy (Tom Cruise), yang menenggalamkan dirinya dalam sebuah petualangan malam hari yang membawanya ke sebuah tempat yang tidak terduga. Semua berawal dari pengakuan Alice, istrinya, yang menyatakan bahwa dirinya pernah berfantasi melakukan hubungan seksual dengan pria lain. Sakit hati karena pengakuan itu, Billy yang banyak dikagumi oleh wanita (termasuk putri dari koleganya, Marion (Marie Richardson)), berusaha untuk melemparkan dirinya ke dalam kehidupan para penganut hedonisme dengan menuruti ajakan seorang pelacur bernama Domino (Vanessa Shaw). Namun, Billy yang memang bukanlah seorang pria yang suka ‘bermain-main’ dengan perempuan, selalu saja mengagalkan keinginannya sendiri untuk berselingkuh dari istrinya di tengah jalan. Di dalam gejolak yang pasang surut tersebut, Billy pun bertemu dengan teman lamanya, Nick (Todd Field), yang bekerja sebagai seorang pianis di sebuah band. Di kafe tempat mereka bertemu, Nick memberitahunya tentang sebuah pesta amat sangat rahasia dimana semua orang yang hadir mengenakan topeng. Tertarik dengan pesta tersebut, Billy pun memutuskan untuk datang malam itu juga, Di sana, Ia melihat sebuah pesta seks rahasia yang begitu sakral hingga membuat penonton curiga bahwa pesta itu adalah pesta yang diadakan oleh sekte tertentu. Billy pun diperingatkan oleh satu dari sekian banyak wanita bertopeng untuk segera keluar dari tempat itu karena nyawanya bisa terancam.

Film ini sungguh terasa aura klasiknya. Hal ini saya perhatikan dari cara Stanley menggerakan kameranya (dia adalah operator kameranya di sini) dan juga dari plotnya dimana struktur 3 babak dalam film ini begitu mudah dicerna, tapi tetap memiliki kekuatan untuk mempersona penonton. Hal lain yang membuat saya terpukau saat menontonnya pertama kali adalah kontrol dari Stanley di hampir setiap elemen dalam film ini.

Stanley banyak menggunakan tracking shot yang elegan dalam film ini. Perjalanan satu malam yang dialami Billy tampak menjadi begitu aneh, misterius, dan sensual dengan pacing yang amat sangat dijaga oleh Stanley agar penonton dapat perlahan-lahan melebur dalam petualangan itu sendiri. Nuansa noir juga terasa kental saat Billy merasa diikuti oleh seorang pria di malam setelah Ia menghadiri pesta itu. Saya memperhatikan bahwa setiap shot begitu jelas memperhatikan para aktor karena semua figuran tidak pernah terlihat berjalan menghalangi kamera Stanley dalam mengikuti gerakan aktor-aktornya. Dalam referensi yang saya baca, Stanley memiliki shot andalan yang diisebut dengan “The Glare”, yaitu shot saat seorang aktor menundukkan wajahnya dengan matanya melihat ke atas. Dalam “Eyes Wide Shut”, shot ini terlihat saat Billy membayangkan istrinya yang terlihat puas disetubuhi oleh pria lain.

Akting dari Tom Cruise dan Nicole Kidman yang saat itu masih menikah juga menghipnotis saya. Akan tetapi, meskipun Tom adalah karakter utama dalam cerita ini, justru Nicole banyak mencuri scene. Ekspresi, gestur, dan intonasi dari kata-kata karakter Alice membangun mood cerita ini. Di awal film, saat adegan pesta di rumah kolega Billy, Victor Ziegler (Sydney Pollack), Alice digoda oleh seorang pria yang jauh lebih tua darinya bernama Sandor (Sky Dumont). Alice yang sadar bahwa Sandor hanya ingin membawanya ke ranjang, justru memutuskan untuk bermain dengannya. Perhatikan dialog berikut ini :

Sandor : “Are you here with anyone, Alice?”
Alice : “With my… (pause) husband.”

Tak lama kemudian, Sandor dan Alice pun berdansa. Kemudian, Alice memperhatikan dua orang wanita yang menggoda Billy di koridor. Sandor pun bertanya :

Sandor : “Someone you know?”
Alice : “My… (pause) husband.”

Kata “husband” yang dipisah dengan waktu dan intonasi sedemikian rupa dari kata “my” merupakan bentuk pernyataan bahwa Alice tidak sekedar ingin menggoda Sandor, tapi juga untuk menggoda dirinya sendiri untuk mengetahui sampai seberapa jauh Ia bisa bermain-main dengan pria lain.

Banyak yang membicarakan tentang pesta seks rahasia dalam film ini dan mendiskusikan tentang aliran apa yang menjadi referensi Stanley. Bagi saya, pesta seks tersebut tidaklah lebih dari sekedar petualangan nyata yang dialami Billy sebagai bentuk pengimbangan dari fantasi Alice yang tidak kalah liar dari kenyataan yang dialami Billy dalam pesta tersebut. Petualangan psychosexual, baik nyata maupun mimpi, adalah inti dari cerita ini. Saya justru lebih tertarik dengan bagaimana Stanley mengatur blocking dari para pemain figuran dalam pesta seks tersebut sehingga membentuk suatu sensor tersendiri. Hal ini memang pertama kali dilakukan di salah satu film Austin Powers, tapi Stanley mengembangkannya dengan ciri khasnya sendiri yang membuatnya menonjol.

Say sendiri dapat merespon karakter dokter Billy dengan baik karena saya sendiri adalah seorang mahasiswa kedokteran. Saat Alice mempertanyakan apa yang dipikirkan Billy ketika menyentuh tubuh pasien wanitanya, Billy dengan yakin menjawab bahwa dia tidak memikirkan tentang seks. Saya percaya dengan perkataan Billy, walaupun selalu ada pengecualian untuk beberapa dokter dengan kepribadian tertentu. Di sisi yang lain, saya setujua dengan pendapat Alice bahwa Billy terlalu naif saat mengatakan bahwa wanita tidak mungkin berfantasi tentang seks seperti pria. Dengan sangat baik, Stanley menampilkan dua pemikiran berbeda antara Billy dan Alice tanpa membuat salah satunya tampak lebih superior.

Film ini tidak akan sekuat ini tanpa scoring yang memperkuat nuansa dingin, misterius, aneh, dan sensual tersebut. Satu nada dari piano dipisahkan dengan rentang waktu yang cukup dengan satu nada piano berikutnya untuk membangun suasana dan emosi cerita. Terkadang satu nada tinggi menyeruak beberapa kali pada beberapa shot dan membuat penonton tetap terjaga selama mengikuti plot film ini.

Penggarapan film ini yang memakan waktu 2 tahun untuk tahap produksinya memang saya rasa tepat, mengingat untuk bisa menciptakan shot-shot yang tidak hanya sekedar sepenuhnya terkontrol tapi juga memiliki konsistensi dari satu shot ke shot berikutnya adalah hal yang susah dan membutuhkan kesabaran dan ketelitian tingkat tinggi. Karya terakhir dari Stanley Kubrick ini pantas untuk masuk dalam deretan masterpiece Stanley lainnya.

(Diambil dari blog LABIRIN FILM http://labirinfilm.blogspot.com)

Stanley Kubrick has one of the greatest visual palettes in the cinema, one of the finest tastes for classical music & a seemingly infinite adoration for his technical craft but his most admirable quality is his honesty. His films are deliberately slow-paced, visually ravishing & ambiguous because he knows the limitations of the cinema are confided by its realism. He is loyal to the principles of the silent cinema because film becomes a dream without the background noise; the sound heightens its realism. Eyes Wide Shut works because we see more than we can hear. As Roger Ebert said, “films that explain nothing often make everything clear. Films that explain everything have nothing to explain”.

When Kubrick subtracts, he adds.

Eyes Wide Shut is easily misunderstood, tenderly under-rated. When it was released in July 16th of 1999, film critics were dissatisfied at the film’s methodic pace, languorous conversations & misrepresentation of New York. This is no surprise. After Spartacus, Kubrick’s films received mixed receptions for his unorthodox style; his rebellion against the rules of conventional cinema. Eyes Wide Shut’s motifs include the long take, masterfully executed by Kubrick because he emphasizes the chasracter’s gestures, the facial movements & the foreground. When our generation of film leaves no room for air, Kubrick wants us to think about the past & present occurrences; always when we’re in the long take’s frame of mind. He repeats the effect to ask us the fundamental question: is this a dream? Otherwise, why would he soften the focus in the rear projection scenes? Why would the characters have long passages between sentences? Why has he saturated the colours? And why does New York not look like New York? Kubrick’s subtle transitions always maintain anonymity.

Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman star as Dr. Bill & Alice Harford, a rich couple living in a luxurious New York apartment. They meet Victor Ziegler (Sydney Pollack), a friend/patient of Bill’s at a society ball & already, his superficial friendliness doesn’t match his secretive persona. During the ball, Bill meets Nick Nightingale, a former medicine student now playing as a jazz musician. Following scenes present the daily occurrences of the couple until they decide to smoke pot; alone in a night’s silence. Disoriented & agitated, Alice recalls when he saw a naval officer at Cape Cod. She tells the story to Bill & is clear in emphasizing her temporary crush. A languid argument ensues. We see Bill’s trust subside; frustrations building. He receives a phone call where one of his patients passed away in his sleep. As a caring gesture, he decides to visit the family. He knows it’s the perfect opportunity for solitude & contemplation. The remainder of the film encompasses a journey involving a prostitute’s house, a tailor shop & a large estate. These locations share a common pattern: they involve sexual situations in the form of an erotic daydream, in which Bill is the witness.

Kubrick’s mastery doesn’t lie in how much he enhances the narrative but in how little. When Bill intuitively acknowledges that he’s being stalked, Kubrick only needs a keyboard piano, a facial gaze & a set of New York’s Grand Central to imply tension, the presence of lurking danger & solitude. He understands the principle of suspense lies in what we know & don’t know. We know he knows when our tensions begin formation. Eyes Wide Shut is essentially a film embodied with minimalistic transitions; a film containing scenes with one purpose: not to titillate the audience but to witness Bill’s encounters with the foreign. When Bill witnesses the orgy, the Steadicam’s choreography hints Bill’s voyeurism. Viewers could mistake the scene as pornographic but eroticism is the film’s subject. Hiding the private parts would diminish what’s obviousness to the viewer. In this scenario, subtlety is not the key; he wants us witness the implications of the participants’ voyeurism. To the estate’s guest, the hierogamy-inspired sexual ritual is expected; to Bill, it’s a venture into the unknown and an event that will evoke the realization of his own vanity. This is what the movie is all about: Bill’s encounters, his reactions & his understandings.

Technical perfectionism is essentially a paradox; it can detract while adding. Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane is renowned as being a technically inventive work but my dislike of Kane is clearly in the minority. I accuse Welles for ‘oversymbolism’ because there are too many constructed shots with overflowing ambition. The use of the optical printer, jump-cuts, deep focus & matte paintings are ingenious techniques when employed well; over-use can create emotional distance. Eyes Wide Shut, like Citizen Kane, voids a catharsis because Kubrick’s chief concern is addressing the narrative’s metaphysics. Eyes Wide Shut seems to inhibit the sense of freedom that works like Mean Streets, Lawrence of Arabia & 2001: A Space Odyssey inhabit so freely. Maybe this is intentional; maybe Kubrick’s aim is to trap the viewer into Bill’s point of view. Maybe it’s Kubrick’s intention to mystify us & ask us Bill’s questions. Eyes Wide Shut succeeds in fascinating us; it immerses us into a universe of thoughts; always examining taboos that simultaneously co-exist with the independent film. Maybe Bill’s surrealistic voyage isn’t designed to manipulate our emotions. Maybe it’s meant to inspire our understandings of eroticism. Kubrick is intelligent enough to realize that his themes offer more questions than answers.

Sometimes, directors may be so immersed in their vision that they aren’t aware of its shortcomings. What Wong Kar-Wai’s Ashes of Time Redux lacks in narrative pull, 2046 lacks in aritistic ingenuity. While Ashes of Time Redux may have focussed on the sumptuous visuals may have been his subject, his tradeoff with narrative clarity wasn’t equal. While 2046’s fragmented narrative structure implies confusion & the feel of memory, he dries his imagination by his over-use of slow motion. Like Won’g work, Full Metal Jacket’s first 45 minutes are imbued with imagination while the relationship between Gomer Pyle & Gunnery Sergeant Hartman is genuinely fascinating. After Gomer Pyle’s suicide, the film revolves around Sergeant James T. ‘Joker’ Davis & his experiences in Vietnam. There are many innovative shots but Kubrick’s films work by fascinating us with his insights & implications. Every picture will sink if the protagonist stinks.

This is his fundamental flaw. He knows his material so well that he becomes the audience & the critic. An example is when Kubrick intercuts shots of Bill’s contemplative phase with passionate sex between Alice & the naval officer. Director’s cuts usually exhibit unnecessary footage. Kubrick may have felt that the footage was necessary for continuity but the repeat shots are unnecessary because they silence the film’s ambiguity. Begin with Bill in a contemplative phase. Show a portion of the scene & cut back quickly to Bill’s reaction. When we see another shot of Bill (e.g. when he’s been driven to the estate), his gaze is enough. It works in Yasujiro Ozu’s An Autumn Afternoon & Takeshi Kitano’s Sonatine because we know the characters so well that we can anticipate their actions. No need to dwell on the point.

When a film draws you into a hypnotic phase, its only when you’re seeing something new, something that inspires our awe; not the content but the film-maker’s craft. The ending underwhelms every simple impulse & stroke of imagination we expect from a Kubrick film because it stoops to conventional moralizing. Eyes Wide Shut works by leaving the questions unanswered. Less is more.

Stanley Kubrick is one of the greatest achievers in the cinema. Like the protagonist, confidence could be an issue. His career was marked by his visions; sometimes, there were drawbacks. Not once did he compromise his vision (after Spartacus) but that long sightedness led to short sightedness. Lolita needs a new frame of mind. A Clockwork Orange displays a malicious view on criminals. Full Metal Jackets suffers from a bad egg. Eyes Wide Shut is a fitting epitaph to a great film-maker, an under-rated affair marked with the same reasons. Kubrick’s films are imaginative, insightful, thought-provoking & deliberately slow-paced. While today’s directors are always finding new tempos, Kubrick slows down. He defied expectations; he never takes sides & his films are sessions for meditation. Eyes Wide Shut is a lot like the fable of ‘The Tortoise & The Hare’.

i watch it in 1 o’clock in the night hoping to get asleep (because many people said this movie is boring),.but what actually happen is, i’m awake from the beginning till the end and didn’t feel asleep at all.this movie is a thrilling and tempting erotic thriller that leaves me one question : is Kubrick really a human being?because you know,nobody’s perfect,but it looks like there’s no single flaw in his filmography ! even his last (and some consider it his least) give a longing impression in my mind

Not only is this one of Kubrick’s most visually impressive films but it’s also one of his best films, period. Nicole Kidman always gets so much hate and I never understand why. Maybe those that criticize her haven’t seen this film. She and Cruise are superb, the music is sublime and the camera work is some of the best I’ve ever seen. But even with that wonderful score and all that stunning lighting in front of our eyes, the story still shines through so powerfully. Perfect end to a wonderful career.

Okay, some people consider this film to be a mess, unworthy of being the final masterwork by one of cinema’s most innovative geniuses. I disagree. I’m not sure how much of the film actually “happens” in a real sense after Nicole Kidman’s character makes the fateful admission to her husband (Tom Cruise). The film, from my point of view, is a dream that turns into a nightmare for Cruise’s character; a dark journey through a marriage that has to hit rock bottom before the couple can reach a level of honesty about themselves. A final, confident, haunting masterpiece.

I hate the way Kubrick shot this film. Almost all the shots are steadicam-shots, steadicam behind the characters, steadicam in front of the characters, steadicam from the side. Did the great Kubrick lose the ability to cover a scene, and simply decided to steadicam his way out of his problems? It’s lazy filmmaking.
I’m not talking about the lighting, the lighting is amazing-
the lighting cameraman (Larry Smith) should pat himself on the back. But the shots and camera movements are uninspired-
it almost seems as if Kubrick had his actors walking all the time, just so he could use his beloved steadicam as much as possible.
I know Kubrick was one of the first filmmakers to embrace the steadicam, and it worked really well in The Shining, but not so well in Full Metal Jacket, and not at all in EWS.