Why 'Eyes Wide Shut' has stood the test of time

Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut

I can think of few recent movies that have been redeemed through time and distance more than Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. Despite a handful of rave reviews when it was initially released, the movie was ridiculed and reviled by most audiences, many of whom were inexplicably expecting a more explicit and accessible thriller.

What they instead got was a darkly funny and prescient meditation on the preoccupation with infidelity.

Like most Kubrick projects, it was development for years. Kubrick even considered casting comedic actor Steve Martin in the lead at one point (he was a huge fan of The Jerk) which speaks volumes about the inherent humor the director saw in the material.

It's definitely not a traditional genre picture, but then again none of Kubrick's films were, And like nearly all of his films, its reputation has improved dramatically over time as if audiences finally caught up with what he was doing.

A Clockwork Orange was initially viewed as an orgy of senseless violence, but more adept viewers now understand the film as a work of pitch black satire. Believe it or not, The Shining was dismissed by some critics when it first came out as not scary enough, whereas today the movie is routinely name-checked as perhaps the most unsettling horror film of all time.

When Eyes Wide Shut first came out in 1999 there was anticipation of X-rated antics from Hollywood's hottest couple. And while Kidman shows lots of skin and the couple does engage in some chaste cavorting, sex is not the primary preoccupation of this film.

It's hard to sell audiences on a film fascinated with the mind, but then again that's ultimately what 2001 and most of Kubrick's work was about. He was an unapologetically cerebral filmmaker that almost never chooses the easy narrative route.

Some may quibble about the quality of his work, but few can knock the craftsmanship. And the visual details of Eyes Wide Shut, like all of his classic films, stick with you long after the movie is finished.

Take, for instance, the infamous orgy scene. Now that it's been restored to its uncensored glory on DVD (the film released in theaters was compromised to get an R-rating) it's an unsettling and surreal experience. The costumes, the heightened dialogue, the whole ominous feel of it still hasn't quite been matched since.

While films like Fifty Shades of Grey make unconventional sexuality look laughable, Eyes Wide Shut is actually interested in making you think and indulging your fantasies.

Of course, there will always be those that see this film as lesser Kubrick. Tom Cruise is polarizing to say the least, the script's circuitous language (characters often repeat every question they're asked) and the film's piano-plinking score can be tiresome. But I still like this movie more every time I see it, because its bursting with ideas, because it raises real questions and because it's damn sexy too.