3. Eyes Wide Shut (1999) - Remove Your Mask - The Dreamer
The Film: In stark contrast to Barry Lyndon, which has a realistic, authentic feel thanks to the lighting, Eyes Wide Shut has a real dream feeling to it, one that is punctuated by the heavy use of studio sets, artificial lights and New York street replication in Pinewood studios. Eyes Wide Shut is often called a sexual odyssey - a film that begins as simply as the final line that ends it all, yet everything that comes in between is of the unknown variety, for both us, the audience, and the movie's main character, Bill (Tom Cruise). The film begins in a voyeuristic way as we follow Bill and his wife Alice who are getting ready for a party, in a way that any couple might. The voyeur theme is really hammered home as we see Alice on the toilet, casually using a tissue after finishing, in a way any normal woman would. This loose feeling is carried over across to the party, but it is from there that things begin to get a little bit odd. Without describing the whole narrative, this film has many twists and turns for Bill, who is really the films driving force, the peripheral characters are not important to this film, it is Bills journey of sexual discovery that the audience is forced to focus on. The abrupt ending comes in a simplistic atmosphere as Bill and Alice shop for their younger daughters Christmas presents. The final line is a stark reminder of what the film is ultimately about, but it is also a complete contradiction to the borderline horrific and unreal events Bill has gone through on that one night. This, like a lot of Kubrick films, really relies heavily on cause and effect - things happen to drive the plot forward, as is the rule that most films follow, but with Kubrick, and Eyes Wide Shut in particular, it feels very much like you falling down a rabbit hole of complete madness due to a strangeness of the series of events. The same could be said for 'The Shining' and - to an extent - 'Dr. Strangelove'; insane moments happen and the effect is felt with a full blow. In Kubrick's world, there are never any grey areas or half measures when it comes to how the plot is driven forward - once Eyes Wide Shut gets going, it is full throttle weirdness.
The Scene: During the aforementioned odyssey of all things sexual, Dr. William Harford encounters a scenario that wouldn't look too far out of place in David Lynch film. After some odd ritual choosing of women in masks, we are treated to a POV around the stately home that Bill finds himself in. We see a crazy anonymous orgy accompanied by some sort of seemingly Middle Eastern tribal music, as Bill walks slowly around the madness that is ensuing. During this time he is approached by a lady who tells him he is in grave danger and should leave immediately. Before he can leave, he is brought in front of the grand jury of sex pests and asked to remove his mask. It has all the Kubrick hallmarks -you have the loud overbearing yet simplistic classical score, the extensive Kubrick stare through the masks and it all ends with a classic Kubrick crash zoom. This particular scene reminds us of the lives we lead and what drives as human beings. It brings us full circle in understanding our two basic human emotions and in the films of Stanley Kubrick; Fear and Desire - the title of Stanley's very first picture. Kubrick is in a playful, mysterious and surreal mood with Eyes Wide Shut and this scene in particular illustrates that, a film that for all intents and purposes mirrors his previous work yet still brings something entirely new and fresh to the Stanley table. Shame then, that this would the last ever serving the film world would get.