Tony Perkins Cinema History II Film Analysis Eyes Wide Shut When Stanley Kubrick’s final film Eyes Wide Shut was released critics gave it mixed to poor reviews. While some saw a semi-pornographic film others saw another Kubrick classic. When I first watched this movie (over a decade ago) I did not understand what all the fuss was about. It felt like Showgirls, a lot of hype just for a nude celebrity. Now with a better understanding for film and Kubrick’s intense attention to detail I have come to appreciate it much more. Considering the fact that Eyes Wide Shut is about an occult secret society that eliminates those who cross its path, and that he died just 5 days after screening his final cut, some theories have arose about Kubrick’s death and its suspicious nature. On the surface Eyes Wide Shut is the story of an upscale doctor Bill Hartford (Tom Cruise) and his wife Alice (Nicole Kidman) and their dealings with temptation and marital turmoil, but this is just a cover for the real story, the “mask” if you will. When Bill tells his wife that he loves and trusts her, she completely loses it. She then proceeds to tell him a story about how she was once ready to cheat on him with a naval officer she met in a hotel. This cruel story brings up in her husband feelings of jealousy, insecurity, betrayal and even humiliation. In short, Alice purposely summoned everything that is negative in relationships to pop Bill’s “love bubble”. This wake-up call prompts Bill to embark in a strange journey around New-York city, one that has multiple levels of meanings. That strange night will ultimately lead him to the exact opposite of a monogamous relationship: Anonymous, masked copulation with strangers in a ritual setting.