4 August 1999

TS writes: "I'm sure you've heard it all on Eyes Wide Shut. It's about sexual obsession...it's about jealousy...it's about nothing...it's about passion and understanding and commitment...it's all a dream...it's about red doors, blue lights, subconscious circles of life and death...all of these themes, theories, and symbolic devices have been discussed. But how about this theory: Eyes Wide Shut is about finding yourself; knowing what you want and what you are capable of in this world. Stop a stranger on the street and ask him or her what they want from life -- what they desire most from their short time on Earth -- and I bet you, nine times out of ten, the first thing out of their mouths will be, 'Uh...well...'

Bill exemplifies this perfectly...throughout the film he wears a mask...at first his invisible one; his "I'm-a-good-husband-with-a-loving-trusting- goody-goody-wife" mask. Then the obvious mask at the ball (removed momentarily, in shame, until he returns home, hears of his wife's pornographic dream; becomes jealous again, and replaces his mask with an invisible one again). Not until the very end...after he has stopped flashing his pathetic Doctor's Badge...is his mask removed for good, by his wife no less.

Throughout the film, Bill hasn't a clue as to what he wants. At the party, he stays with the models, finally asking them what THEY want of him. Then, later with the confrontation with Alice, Bill bumbles through excuses...he doesn't know what he was doing with those two women, and Alice knows he desired them (which is okay with her; it's natural)....so, Alice removes her mask, opening up to her husband, revealing her innermost desires, passions, and sins....hoping, I believe, that he will do the same, confess his inner feelings...but he doesn't respond. Instead, he runs off into the night...seeking something, some revenge, but what exactly he does not know.

When confronted with the woman whose father has just died, Bill is shocked to find her practically reenacting his wife's story. The woman is willing to give up her future in Michigan with her fianceé, just to be near Bill. This makes no sense to him....he is shocked...he flees into the streets. Then, with the prostitute he is, again, clueless as to what he is doing and what he really wants and desires. The prostitute asks him (wearing a purple dress; red plus blue -- home and passion) what he would like to do with her. Bill doesn't know and has to ask, "Well, what do you recommend?" It's rather pathetic. Bill is saved by chance (again and again he will be presented with an exit, which he gladly takes). Later, at the orgy, Bill wanders through the mansion, unclear as to his motives...should he join in on the fun? Should he heed the mysterious woman's warning and leave? He doesn't know, so he drifts on and spies on the forbidden ritual like some pathetic voyeur. When forced to remove his mask, Bill is ashamed...when ordered to remove his clothing, he is horrified. He thought he sought adventures of the naked, "forbidden" flesh, but at that moment he understands the magnitude of his error. He isn't playing a game, he is playing with the rest of his life.

Bill is "redeemed." He is saved, given a way out -- a way back to his wife and daughter. But he still wears a mask. He keeps the night a secret from his wife. And when Alice, once again, reveals a passionate, sinful dream she had, he closes himself off. Bill blames Alice for his desires, his confusion. Alice is attempting to open their marriage -- no secrets, no lies -- but Bill isn't playing, because he fails to understand his life. He is still confused, lost, uncertain whether he would give up everything for that one moment of pleasure. He roams on...Again and again, Bill flashes his Doctor's license, as if this gives him some credence, some importance, some sense of self: "I'm a doctor." Big damn deal. What is he really? No man is his job, his title. Kubrick was trying to convey this: if you don't know who you really are...what you desire, need, love, despise, live for....then you are a walking joke.

Bill is often ridiculed -- by frat boys, by a gay hotel clerk -- because he keeps asking questions about a dream (the past) that doesn't matter! Why can't he just tell his wife (as she has told him) his desires, his near affairs and move on? Why can't he see past the dreams, the illusions, the games and cling to what truly matters? When will he realize it? Ah-ha...in a toy store (symbolizing innocence, his child) with his wife. The three are together (father, mother, child; a "magic circle" much like the title to the new toy displayed in the background).

Like the ending suggests...be glad you have overcome your adventures. The reality of one night, let alone an entire lifetime, can never be the whole truth...and no dream is just a dream. Don't gush about loving one another "forever." It's impossible. Be thankful, grateful for the precious time you are given and make the most of it...determine who you are, what you love, and what you will do, or not do, to keep it.

From Amy: "With respect to the white-yellow light, I did notice its prolific use and its beauty throughout the film. In the business world to which I have been exposed, there are two kinds of people - the fluorescent light don't care people, and the white-yellow light "aah" people. The white-yellow light "aah" people go out of their way to create a pleasant, non-threatening atmosphere - an atmosphere which makes things appear better than they are. In terms of the movie, this seems to go along with the whole mask idea, and it is likely that the white-yellow light is used primarily at times when there is a pleasant veneer covering an ugly undercurrent (at the party, for example).

The other thing you questioned on which I have some thoughts was the child's wearing red (the color of passion/danger/fire) throughout the film. I found it perplexing throughout the film that the nature of the couple's relationship with their daughter, Helena, was difficult to qualify. The couple referred to her on a number of occasions, but rarely were they seen interacting with her, and when they were, there was obligation attached. I gathered, and I think this is the case with many parents today, that while their daughter is loved and wanted, and very much a part of the family life they have worked to create, that she is not so much a person as an entity to them. She is a source of fear and responsibility, something that misfortune could take away at any moment, something that requires attention and hard work, something that requires expenditures of money and time, something with the power to please or to disappoint. I can definitely see how in their minds she represents passion/danger/fire more than home/safety/earth."

"Page 5, More Eyes Open"