The movie however does not spell out anything. Like all great art, messages are communicated through subtle symbols and mysterious riddles. Does it also give a politic message to us all about the reality we every day face and we choose not to see and revert it? Think about that too!!!
I read that Stanley Kubrick unexpectedly died only five days after submitting the final cut of the movie to Warner Bros, making Eyes Wide Shut his swan song. Considering the fact that Eyes Wide Shut is about an occult secret society that eliminates those who cross its path, I came across to some theories arose about Kubrick’s death and its suspicious nature. Did he reveal to the public too much, too soon?
The stars of Eyes Wide Shut were the “It” couple of 1999: Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Those who were expecting (as I did!!) the movie to be a sort of voyeuristic experience showing hot scenes of the couple were probably very disappointed. The audience rather got a cold, egoistic and profoundly unsatisfied couple, one that seems to be tied together not by pure love, but by other factors, like convenience and appearances (something that appears a lot on couples in real life, some of them manage to carry on, most of them choose the way of divorce and follow different paths on their lives). While the couple is very “modern” and “upper-class”, are the forces that keep it together the result of basic, primal and almost animalistic behavior? Isn’t it common, if we look at the instinctive behavior of humans and animals, males primarily look for females that have good child-bearing qualities while females look for a strong provider? That’s not the rule of course, but remnants of this behavior still exist today as males tend to display wealth and power to attract females while females showcase their beauty to attract males. In Eyes Wide Shut, the couple perfectly follows that instinctive script.
The good doctor Bill, as in dollar bill, waves his money or his “doctor badge” at people several times during the movie, to get them to do what he wants. Being a part of the upper class, his dealings with people of the lower class are often resolved with money.
Alice lost her job in the art world and is now fully supported by her husband’s salary. While she lives very comfortably, Alice appears to be extremely bored with her life as a stay at home mother. A privileged girl who is bored with her life and who goes “through the looking glass” grooming herself or looking for different answers to her boring life.
It is obvious that the couple shows signs of fatigue so both of them put on their “happy masks” when it is time to attend social events, just like the elite people they socialize with where there is a big difference between the facade they put on and reality. I wonder if those “happy masks” are used by people more often nowadays …
Bill and Alice go to a classy party given by Victor Ziegler, one of Bill’s wealthy patients, who is not just simple rich; he belongs to the upper elite. I read on an article that knowing Kubrick’s attention to detail, the inclusion of the star of Ishtar in this party is not an accident. Ishtar is the Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war and, mostly, sexuality. Her cult involved sacred prostitution and ritual acts – two elements we clearly see later in the movie.
Who is Ishtar? Babylonians gave Ishtar offerings of food and drink on Saturday. They then joined in ritual acts of lovemaking, which in turn invoked Ishtar’s favor on the region and its people to promote continued health and fruitfulness. Ishtar herself was considered to be the “courtesan of the gods” and had many lovers. While inspired in bed, she was also cruel to the men that got attached to her. These concepts will constantly reappear in the movie, especially with Alice.