Re: eyes wide shut

bethany edstrom (bethanyedstrom@hotmail.com)
Sat, 17 Jul 1999 21:07:28 -0500 (CDT) 

Did anyone think Kubrick was making fun of Tom Cruise? Or, if "making fun" 
is too harsh, that he was using some of the more irritating quirks of 
Cruise's screen persona to comic advantage? He has that excessively calm, 
rational attitude that contrasts with the chaos and terror of the events of 
the film. There is also a great scene in which a gay hotel clerk flirts 
relentlessly with him.

I liked the film, and haven't been too huge a fan of Kubrick's in the past.

Bethany



>
>I don't know that I'd call it another Kubrick masterpiece.  Interesting, 
>certainly.  But a masterpiece?  Certainly not.
>
>Kidman does an amazing job in the movie, but maybe I just hate Tom Cruise.  
>I just don't buy him as the angst-ridden man that he portrays in the movie. 
>  She, though, she manages to convey all that mystery is in even a safe, 
>married woman.  If she doesn't get beaucoup awards for this one, I'll be 
>surprised.
>
>Visually, it's stunning.  (And I'm not talking about all the nudity that's 
>in it, either.)  There are these surreal, masked scenes that you can't tear 
>your eyes away from.
>
>But it's the trap that every great director gets into.  He builds and 
>builds upon things that aren't strictly necessary to the plot, and you end 
>up with a movie that is forty minutes longer than need be.
>
>Don't get me wrong, though.  I didn't dislike it. But I didn't love it 
>either.  It won't disappoint, unless you are looking for a masterpiece.
>
>Which I guess is what I was doing.
>
>Regards,
>Cecilia.
>---
>On Sat, 17 Jul 1999 04:36:07   BabeVal wrote:
> >  I saw it and thought it was another Kubrick masterpiece. I was amazed 
>at
> >how great Cruise and Kidman were. I usually don't care for either of 
>them,
> >but they developed their characters so well in this film. Several scenes 
>were
> >chilling. Scenes that would normally seem erotic, were terrifying. One 
>person
> >I went with, however, fell asleep. And after the movie I heard two women 
>in
> >the restroom saying what a "dud" it was. They said they expected the pace 
>to
> >pick up after the first hour (it's 2hrs 40min). It's pacing was only 
>slightly
> >faster than 2001. I recommend seeing this film.
> >
> >~Valerie
> >
>
>
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