Eyes Wide Shut is an erotic psychological mystery drama that was released in 1999 and was directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick. He took inspiration from a 1920s German Novel. He wanted to bring the story of 1926 back to life before a new century began. Thus, Eyes Wide Open is based on a German Novella, Traumnovelle, or Dream Story (1926).
The author of the book is Arthur Schnitzler, an Austrian dramatist and author. Well, you will be a little shocked to hear that this movie was Stanley Kubrick’s final film he directed. He died six days after the movie was signed with Warner Bros. The movie was a hit at the Box Office.
It spent around $65 million and collected around $163 million. The response from the audience and the critics was ok. The movie revolves around a physician, Bill (Tom Cruise), who is successful and wealthy. He has a wife called Alice (Nicole Kidman), who is beautiful, attractive, and stays calm.
Alice knew that her husband was attractive, and women tried to seduce him. At a party, she realized that her husband was busy with someone else, so she confessed in front t of him about the affair she had a year ago. After this, Bill, who feels jealous, leaves her behind and sets off on a journey.
A journey that was strange. He witnessed a darker side of society that was hidden. Later, Bill and Alice came back on the same track again. They realized that they could not betray each other. In 2023, it is still a matter of discussion because of the movie, Eyes Wide Shut’s ending, the mask, and its name too.
What Is The Movie, Eyes Wide Shut About?
The movie, Eyes Wide Shut revolves around a passionate couple trapped in their fantasies. William Bill Harford is a very successful physician from New York. He has a wife named Alice, who is beautiful, soft, and relaxed. The couple has a seven-year-old daughter who is nowhere in the movie because the couple is in their universe.
One fine day, Alice and Bill are invited by a wealthy patient of Bill. The couple arrives and enjoys, but Alice notices that her husband is getting much female attention, and he isn’t opposing but rather enjoying. On the other hand, a man tries to hit on Alice, too, but she is focusing on her husband.
When Bill disappears, she immediately guesses what’s happening. The one who was hitting on Alice asked her to share a room with him upstairs. Alice refuses. After the party, Alice finds Bill and starts a strange conversation. She asks him if he has ever cheated on her.
Bill strictly refuses and says he never did such things to her. However, she confesses that when they were on a trip earlier, an officer was strongly attracted to her. Bill stops her and leaves the place immediately. Till now, it was just the introduction; the movie starts from here.
Also Read: Here Before Ending Explained: A Close Look at the Plot and Resolution
The two days that Bill spent without his wife in the streets of New York is the main story, here. He walks in the streets and imagines his wife in the arms of a smart, handsome, and strong military man. He tried to get rid of his imagination, but it wasn’t in his hands.
In the streets, he finds his musician friend, who opens up in front of Bill. He explains how he performs an event with his eyes closed, and he is well paid for the same. Bill says that he is interested. Hence, he follows his friend and finds himself in a phantasmagoric type of glass.
Bill gets a costume and a mask, and he sees the shop owner’s daughter with two men. Bill goes to a mansion and discovers that there are sexual rituals taking place. A masked woman appears beside him and warns him. She says that he is in danger, so he should leave as soon as possible.
The master, who was monitoring everything, unmasks Bill, but the woman comes in the middle and begs him to leave Bill at her body’s cost. After that, Bill is set free but with a warning that he should keep quiet. Bill was highly confused and was feeling guilty.
Also Read: Save Me K-Drama Ending Explained – The Dark & Gritty Drama About Religious Cult, Humanity, & Faith
He arrives home and finds Alice giggling in her sleep. He wakes her up. Alice says with tears in her eyes that she was having sex with an officer and many other men in her dream. Also, Bill was watching all this, so she was laughing hard.
The next day, Bill feels that he should return the costume, so he arrives at Nick’s hotel. He finds out that Nick left the place with two risky men. Bill returns the costume but forgets about the mask. After this, several strange incidents took place, and someone was following Bill constantly. Some were sold into sex slavery, and some disappeared.
Nothing was normal in Bill’s life after this. After two days, he finds the rented mask on his pillow. After seeing the mask, he confesses everything that happened to him in the past two days. Alice understood, and they had a discussion. The next day, Bill says sorry to Alice, but she suggests he to f* her.
Also Read: Florida Man Ending Explained: Did Mike Cane Back For The Gold Or For Delly?
Meaning of Eyes Wide Shut
Stanley Kubrick is a person who touches on deep and different topics in his movies. Likewise, Eyes Wide Open had its hands on the societal dehumanization of sexual desires. Throughout the story, we see how Bill and Alice are surrounded by sex, fantasies, and temptation, but at the end of the day, they are loyal to each other.
They explored their sexual desires, but they were together again. When Alice opens up and says that a military officer was all over her, a year ago, Bill’s mind stopped working. He just left her and went on a short journey to explore himself. He discovered an anonymous, mysterious society that was part of a masked orgy.
Now, this was very strange to him and the viewers too. Through this movie, the creator wants to describe the cause and effects of depersonalized sex. Eyes Wide Shut shows us that sex is the most intimate and ultimate way of interacting for humans but here, anonymously.
Also Read: What Happened To Leandro De Niro Rodriguez? Robert De Niro’s Grandson Passed Away At 19
What Is The Meaning Of Mask?
If you put a mask on, what would you feel? More confidence, and freedom to do whatever you feel like without the fear of being caught or recognized. That is what the mask in Eyes Wide Shut symbolizes. In the movie, everyone at the orgy was wearing a mask, and it was mandatory.
The mask was there to hide the identity of the ones participating in that orgy. However, a mask is also a cover to hide the truth. It is a cover of lies, duplicity, and falsehood. In the movie, Bill was there at the orgy. He was watching everything but didn’t participate.
He wanted to be there and know more about the events, but he didn’t dare to cross his line. Bill’s identity was hidden behind the mask, and he was free to do whatever he wanted but chose not to.
Also Read: What Happened To Justin and Ashlee On Zombie House Flipping? Explained
Eyes Wide Shut Ending Explained
At the end of the movie, Bill and Alice are talking in a supermarket where they are discussing their past 2-3 days. They wanted to get back to their lives, so Alice suggested her husband, come back to reality. The couple finally realized that going beyond their actual roles can be risky.
Alice had a nightmare where she had her desires fulfilled, but when she woke up, she wanted her husband. She cried, hugging him. Also, Bill realized that he shouldn’t have been so toxic because of feelings like jealousy or ego.
After this deep conversation, the couple decides to do sex as they realize that they need it but only from each other. After all, Bill and Alice passed a test in which they were too close to betray each other.
