Film Eyes — Wide Shut Better

"What do you think we should do?" Alice: "I think... we should be grateful. Grateful that we've managed to survive through all of our adventures, whether they were real or only a dream." Alice: "And, as I see it, there is something very important that we need to do as soon as possible." Bill: "What's that?" Alice: "Fuck."

When Eyes Wide Shut was released in 1999, audiences expected a steamy, high-octane erotic thriller starring Hollywood's then-"it" couple, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Instead, they were met with a 159-minute, dreamlike meditation on fidelity, class, and the subconscious that felt more like a "lucid nightmare" than a summer blockbuster. film eyes wide shut better

That simple, repetitive piano note— Ding. Ding. Ding. —follows Bill like a ghost. It is the sound of a clock ticking. It is the sound of dread. It is the sound of a man walking in circles, realizing that his house, his marriage, and his identity are just elaborate costumes. "What do you think we should do

— but after, consider:

That is the most honest, terrifying, and ultimately hopeful ending Kubrick ever wrote. It is better than a happy ending because it is a real ending. Instead, they were met with a 159-minute, dreamlike