Several of the main characters that surround Dr. Bill all have scarlet hair. Third, chances are that its a close-knit group, and every new face/mask evokes suspicion. Because Bill gets a call from Alice and leaves, he doesnt end up sleeping with Domino and doesnt get HIV. Some of the main themes in the movie aremarriage, trust, and infidelity. (aka unrated, international theatrical cut . Stanley Kubrick's attention . Your theory makes a lot of sense from a chess perspective, which was one of Kubricks obsessions. We do have the problem of Helena and any possible relationship to the Trojan Maze at the center of which was Helen (Somerton--indeed, most of the film is involved with such a maze), but I won't be addressing that here. but where are you willing to draw the line of blissful ignorance for the sake of your happiness? Red Cloak: Carmela Marner . So, why should Kubrick choose to end the film instead with the scene in the toy store, where we have these men making a reappearance, separating Helena from her parents, and the camera shifting to focus only on Bill and Alice with close-ups of their faces for the remaining several minutes, never straying below shoulder height so the viewer doesn't consciously look for Helena again and wonder where she is. - Two cloaked figures are standing beneath a statue in the background during the scene in which Bill's pianist friend is led blindfolded through the room of naked dancing couples at the orgy. It appears Nick may have either been killed or he actually left town and went back to Seattle. It is the belief of some that upon seeing Kubricks film at the first viewing they decided much of the content had to be cut away. This anonymity is required of participants, in order to cloak society's moneyed elite. Their daughter, Helena, is seven, at just the right age for experiencing that initial awakening, that first bite of knowledge of self. We will come back to some of the alleged specific symbols used to convey this message a little later. Had one of the masked girls (a prostitute whose life he saved in one of the opening scenes) not intervened, who knows what the consequences would have been? The movie revolves around the lives of a young couple, Dr Bill and Alice Harford. Although it is just over 20 years old, the Stanley Kubrick film, Eyes Wide Shut remains one of the most controversial movies ever made. At a Christmas . 10. While still traumatized from this cognition, the phone rings, and Bill discovers that one of his patients has just died. Anybody at all, in fact, who might cause a problem with their activities. If you look at it purely based on his actions, then yes, he did cheat. There were several clues. Giving up their child is the only way she can redeem Bill. It's as if the first bite of Eve's apple, in Western terms, the child entering into knowledge of themselves and their predicament in the universe, sometimes coinciding with a separation from an earlier, easy acceptance of fairy tale and folk figures such as a Santa Claus who can fly around the world in one night, visiting all boys and girls. No, Alice was not at the party with the ritual. When Helena follows after the very individuals who ushered Alice and Bill into Victor's party, and is cut off from Alice's view by the man who served Alice her drink, Alice turning away from her at that point and the parents not noticing her for the remainder of the film, what this reminds me of is that Helena is not only at that age for her first awakening, but that it is something which she must experience. Of course, 'Eyes Wide Shut', the phrase itself, is a calling card among secret societies, meaning 'my eyes are shut to your misdeeds, brother.'. Gateman #1: Abigail Good . Adding the fact that those two men, plus a third were likely seen at the Ziegler's party. Go to TOC for this film ( (which has also a statement on purpose and manner of analysis and a disclaimer as to caveat emptor and my knowing anything authoritatively, which I do not, but I do try to not know earnestly, with some discretion, and considerable thought). Or, to put it another way: Eyes Wide Shut may have been based on Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 Traumnovelle ( " Dream Story"), but it also plays like a sex-drenched variation on It's a . The next night, he goes to her place, remorseful that he has missed out on his opportunity, only to find out (from her roommate) that she was diagnosed with HIV that very morning. Not Bill. A sub-story that, at first glance, appears to be fairly disturbing occurs at the end of Eyes Wide Shut and is largely obscured within the film's cap stone conversation between Bill and Alice. The origin of "eyes wide shut" The first recorded use of "eyes wide shut" is from an 1896 play by Robert Julian, in which a character jokes that he will guard a house by taking a nap with his eyes wide shut. Then Kubrick cuts to an extreme close-up of Alice turning away and giving her complete attention to Bill. Before Dr. Bill can respond, the second girl says to Dr. Bill dont you want to see where the rainbow ends?[5]. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, . Seeing as how her father might be supplying some of the guests with the costumes makes sense, but it also implies a broader conspiracy. I wouldn't expect anyone to accept this thesis. I don't know if I could accept that interpretation of the ending as provable canon, but I think it does have a lot more plausibility than many people give it credit for. But What is , , really? Mar 23, 2016. Those shadow men are pretty obvious. He also learns of a, the situation turns from strange to outright dangerous, . Notice there is quite a bit going on with sex, death, daughters and money in the film? It was one of the most risque passages in European fiction when it was published in 1925, and still flushed cheeks when Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise starred in Stanley Kubricks adaptation at the turn of the millennium. In the source material, Arthur Schnitzler's Traumnovelle, there is a recurring motif of "two men" who are implied to be nefarious operatives. I think its meant to make you consider that possibility given the secret world of danger we were just introduced to. Starring: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack. He even told his cab driver to wait outside. Bill and Alice both acknowledge that they have awakened from their dreams of infidelity just before turning their reality into a nightmare. He confesses his adventure to his wife the next morning, but Albertine tells him not to worry too much about the future. She had to show restraint while (from her perspective) he was gone for an hour doing who knows what. The character is portrayed by Leon Vitali, but his identity is never revealed in the movie. Tom Cruise with director Stanley Kubrick. But What is cheat, really? "Eyes Wide Shut" may have trouble living up to all the extreme and diverse expectations viewers may have for it, as almost any picture would under the circumstances. As if Kubrick intentionally set out to provoke that awakened child who had fallen back into slumber with all the banal answers to life in which the world (school, religion, work) had immersed them. The next scene is the Christmas shopping scene. Andrew Haydon: Is La Ronde too risqu for the 21st century? By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The reason the film is called Eyes Wide Shut, at least according to some researchers, is a blatant reference to Hollywood and the number of people who (allegedly) know this kind of activity is taking place yet do not say anything about it. She never acted on her desires, but Bill is baffled by the idea that his docile wifehas her own urges and is not sexually passive. Eyes Wide Shut told a seemingly strange story about a married couple, Bill (Cruise) and Alice (Kidman), over the holidays as they go to a rich friend Victor's (Sydney Pollack) Christmas party, both of them experiencing flirtations with attractive strangers. To make matters even worse, theres this concept known as. Perhaps the main drive of these is that such secret societies use mind-controlled sex slaves for their rituals. This is a subtle line implying that she might have some awareness of the event that Bill is heading to. -The two men are seen at the Zeigler party at the start of the film speaking beneath a statue circled by a staircase. Helena's separation from her parents at the end of the film is, really, the perfect anticipation for Kubrick's Pinocchio-based A. I.. words or 4 single-spaced pages. Then, her face totally changes to cold, dead eyes, turns to her left and she stubs out her cigarette. From the book: "What had caused them to become concerned about a lady who had not arrived home at four that morning? And it feels right that Kubrick would include little Helena at the end, in the story of awakening, that which comes to every ensuing generation, and that it would be a point of separation of Helena from the comforting presence of her parents. For example, a costume rental shop named Rainbow plays host to several scenes. Might, as some researchers will tell you, the Epstein case simply be the tip of the iceberg? Does Alices desire to elope with another man not count as cheating? When attacking in chess you always need to have several pieces positioned perfectly. It's the first real brush with the problem of the physical and the concept of whether or not there may be an everlasting soul that may survive the body's death. Although the rumors were rampant for years when the revelations about the secret sex parties hosted by Jeffrey Epstein on his private island came to light recently, it caused many people to look again at such claims of secret societies made of high-ranking people. Read More: When I was the age of seven, having this awakening, much like Alice I was terrified of the idea of infinity, "forever and ever", and wondered how humanity had survived this knowledge of self except to attempt to attempt to forget it, to forcefully hide the deeper questions from themselves with the numbing brute force of the everyday. And that, at least for some, included another look at Eyes Wide Shut. Dreams and the subconscious are powerful, and have the ability to transform our waking lives. And no dream is ever just a dream. According to Kubrick's daughter Katharina, the director had plans to adapt the movie from . , not because it was logical but because it was comforting. However,a choice is never free of consequences. We have already mentioned the rainbow aspect relating to mind control. In the modern world, theres the idea that partners are not indispensable and that there are always other options out there. 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