4 August 1999

JF: "Since seeing Eyes Wide Shut, I can't get it out of my head. During the car ride home I was questioned as to why I thought the prostitute section was in the film. At first I didn't have an answer. Then I posed a question to my friend Dana. "What if Dr. Bill was gay?"- I mean that in a way that he hasn't had any gay affairs, and not that he even considered himself gay, but more so as a subtext to his actions and the way people perceive him. I hope what follows can make sense. I thought this through backwards - (tracing the film from the end to the beginning) - for readings sake, I am attempting to put it in film chronological order. My apologies if I am out of order. All quotes are approximate and all errors are mine, I've only seen it once and have no idea if I've misheard dialogue or simply forgotten passages.

The two models at the Ziegler party: Bill is playing around with the two girls. Somewhat flirty, but seems to have no concrete intentions as to what he wants to do with them. They start to lead him away from the party.

"Where are you taking me?" - Bill. To the "end of the rainbow" - models. I wouldn't have thought too much about this line if the costume shop hadn't had Rainbow in its name. What are rainbows? Illusions. Are the models to end an illusion, or, in a more overt gay imagery way, are they the ones that start his journey to the start of his self awareness. He is not actively seeking to have sex with these two beautiful women, he's letting the situation unfold before him, and does not hesitate when he is requested to leave the ladies in favor of helping Ziegler. Ziegler needs him to help with a naked woman who has overdosed.

Go ask Alice, I think she knows: After the party, Alice is naked in front of a mirror. Bill comes up to her and starts to kiss her. She is watching this unfold in the mirror. Is she watching in a detached manner to see her husbands passion (or lack thereof)? We do not see if they actually have sex together after this.

The boys on the town: While walking, Dr. Bill is harassed as if he were a gay man by a group of 20-something males. They push him around, and mock offer themselves to him. They call him a faggot. He just walks away after the encounter.

Must be some pretty good pot: The day after the party Alice confronts Bill after pot has taken away some of her inhibitions. She asks about the models. He tells her nothing has happened. She tells him about her dancing partner at the party - and that she was propositioned for sex. He isn't surprised by this. "You know what men are like" (or was it "we both know what men are like"). Alice is angered - just because a man speaks to her they only want to f*** her. She asks about what he feels when he touches a woman's breast while on the job - he responds that he feels nothing. It's all very clinical. It's clear that she is jealous of him. He tells her that he wouldn't do anything with anyone else, in a way that she interprets as out of courtesy to her. When she asks if he gets jealous of her, he replies that he doesn't. He trusts her. She confesses a story about a previous vacation they took - and the man that she would have given up everything that she had with Bill (the marriage, what has to be a massive amount of money (judging from the apartment they live in), even their daughter), if only to be with this sailor for one day. Clearly, one glance from this man gave her more than Dr. Bill has ever given her. He doesn't react with any passion, and then the phone rings.

Can this night get any stranger? (uh, yeah...) The phone rings and Bill has to be off - a patient has died. One the way to the patient's home, Bill replays a fictitious tryst between his wife and the sailor. He doesn't look angry - he looks almost inquisitive. Once at the patient's house, he is confronted by the grieving daughter. She confesses that she is in love with Bill, and that she doesn't want to marry her fianceé, if for no other reason, to remain in the same city as Bill. He is taken aback (as most any man would be) and uses the entrance of her fianceé as an excuse to leave.

While walking the streets, he meets up with a hooker. She invites him to her place. Once they start to kiss, his cell phone rings. It's Alice. He tells her that he will not be home right away. That they are still waiting on relatives to arrive at the dead patient's home. Even though he was successful in getting more time, he tells the prostitute that he needs to leave. An act of conscience, or a convenient way to not act upon his sexuality? He leaves, but does not go home. Instead he walks and comes upon a club where an old school buddy is playing the piano.

Once inside, he finds out details of a secret, sexual world where people engage in carnal delights behind masks. I feel that the masks are important, because Bill could be living behind a mask of his own making, and because with a mask on, there would be no worries as to anyone knowing that he is engaging in a sex act (be it hetero of homo). Almost as if the mask would allow him to be anybody.

Bill makes the trek to a costume shop where he thinks he might be able to get an outfit at what must be 2am or later. The shop (and the shop below it) both have "Rainbow" in their names. Rainbows are an image used by the "out" gay community. While renting a costume and mask he comes across a scene where two old men are engaged in something sordid with the shop owner's daughter. Bill reacts not with disgust (due to the girls age), not with curiosity, not with arousal. He just looks on.

Once again Bill is in a cab. Once again he is playing out a scene between his wife and her one glance lover. He seems to almost have the slightest hint of a smile. He doesn't look upset. He enters the party. After much pomp and circumstance, he is chosen by a semi-nude woman to leave the main room. She tells him to leave. He is not safe there. He will be found out. She is whisked off by another man in a mask and he is left to wander the orgy around him. He doesn't stay long at any of the sights. It seems as if he is the only one moving around at all. Finally he is forced to leave and chaos ensues.

As he sneaks back into his house, he wakes Alice who is asleep and laughing. She tells him of a dream where she is unhappy that she is naked with Bill, and profoundly unhappy. Unhappy until he leaves the dream and she is free to have sex with many men while being watched by other men - Bill included. She laughs as loud as she can to hurt her husband. The dream ended at that point.

The next day, while searching out his pianist friend, Bill comes across a gay host at a hotel who blatantly flirts with him, and confides in him, almost in a knowing manner, regarding who left the hotel with his friend at 5 am that day. "They weren't the type you'd want to fool around with" - and then the host laughed, "You know what I mean"

His wife knows that something is up. Bill finds his mask missing, and later it's found on his pillow, left there by Alice. Bill starts crying - his first real show of emotion. "I'll tell you everything." But does he?

Finally, the last line of the film could imply that Alice and Bill have not had sex in quite some time. Is he gay and not fully aware of it? Is he not acting on his feelings? Am I full of crap? I don't know. If my interpretation of the film is correct, then Tom Cruise is even more courageous for taking on the role - particularly because of the rumors that have dogged him for years. Granted - I could read interpretations into Kubrick's sexuality for choosing such material, as anyone who reads this can read into mine for writing this."

"Page 6, "Yes, Virginia, There Is One More Page!"