The very first shot in Eyes Wide Shut has to be one of the sexiest in all of cinema; Nicole Kidman slides off a thin, black dress to reveal her tall, smooth, naked body. A truly great erotic thriller - one that draws you back time and time again - is a hard thing to pull off. Given the genre's keen tendency to bathe in excessive nudity in a way that feels sleazy and exploitative, most erotic thrillers come across as trashy or can usually be found branded as "guilty pleasures" by those who enjoy them. Eyes Wide Shut, the last film ever made by the legendary Stanley Kubrick, is a masterpiece of the genre - a dense and complicated film that begs to be poured over and studied. Starring then-couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as a doctor and his wife whose relationship is threatened when she admits to almost sleeping with a stranger, it's a weird and surreal odyssey into Cruise's character's inner most consciousness. Of course, as was the case with many Kubrick films, critical reception was mixed to negative upon first release, but in recent years audiences and critics seem to have come around to the idea that Eyes Wide Shut is highly underrated. And Nicole Kidman is absolutely stunning.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
