Eyes Wide Shut | Kubrick's Christmas

I had not been seated for very long during my initial viewing of Eyes Wide Shut (Kubrick, 1999) when I experienced what I can only describe as an intense sense of admiration. Few films have so immediately struck the sweet spot of my aesthetic and atmospheric preferences, i.e., jazz music, New York, incandescent lighting, and the dreamlike. I believe I had just reached that first "Baby Did a Bad Thing" needle drop, where Kubrick slowly zooms in on the mirror as Bill and Alice get down to business, where Alice (Nicole Kidman) makes some not-quite-but-nearly glances into the lens in between locking lips with Bill (Tom Cruise), when I realised: Eyes. Wide. Shut. I’m not suggesting that Alice is acutely aware of Kubrick's pervasive camera but rather that, on some subconscious level, she may feel its presence.

In a broader sense, the vast majority of common folk are likely aware of the behavior displayed by the societal elites in the film (especially in the internet age), but they keep their eyes (wide) shut. I think Kubrick wove Lovecraftian language into the text of Eyes Wide Shut; there’s genius at play in how the film walks a tightrope between being an erotic marital drama and a glimpse into the deep incomprehensibility of what is going on in society's higher classes. In much the same way Lovecraft writes about cosmic beings whose mere presence threatens the fragile human psyche, Eyes Wide Shut slowly unveils the underbelly of Bill’s world, which threatens his psyche. Kubrick, like Lovecraft, suggests that we might be dreamers, asleep, trying not to fall into the abyss, and that waking up to confront certain truths might mean our end: Eyes. Wide. Shut. We may be aware, but we shouldn’t look.

Happy (belated) Christmas, by the way. I’m writing this after my post-Christmas-dinner nap. Here’s a common debate, one that is perhaps more prominent in our corner of the internet—our version of ‘Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?’ (We’ve all collectively agreed it is.) Our debate: ‘Is Eyes Wide Shut a Christmas movie?’ And the answer is, of course, again, yes. Despite the film's premise—Dr. Bill Harford roams the streets of New York City looking for a unique sexual experience after his wife, Alice, confesses her sexual fantasies about another man, only to accidentally stumble into the world of an underground sex cult—it may not sound very festive. It may also be, for my money, one of the most horrifying movies ever made. Nevertheless, it is a Christmas movie.

The aesthetic of Eyes Wide Shut is drenched in Christmas: incandescent Christmas tree lights, tinsel, the familiar sounds of Christmastime jazz, gift wrapping, and even The Grinch playing on television. It’s even about family! Strangely enough, this borderline horror movie exudes a merry glow, yet this festive backdrop paves the way for the film’s true core as a terrifying exposé to surface with extreme effectiveness. Just as this atmosphere lures the audience and Bill Harford into a false sense of security, Kubrick critiques complacency in not fully realising what lies beneath the surface.

In fact, the only scenes where there is no Christmas symbolism (i.e., Christmas trees, Christmas lights, etc.) are the cult scenes that take place in the mansion. This struck an interesting chord with me because the ancient Roman tradition of Saturnalia, a holiday celebrated in those times, is often cited as key to the development of the modern Christmas period. To most, it was a celebration of the harvest in the name of the god Saturn, a time to give gifts and decorate homes. To others, it offered a temporary release from the rigid structure of Roman society, as, due to the relaxation of many social norms, activities such as gambling and male infidelity were often overlooked. Kubrick uses this as a framework for the intense scenes in the portion of the film set within the mansion to explore a certain group of people who aren’t using the celebratory time period to be with their families and give gifts but rather to explore their certain primal urges.

Also, an interesting fact: Kubrick strips away Christian imagery from the Christmas symbolism within the film, showing only the modern Christmas bound to consumerism. So, it’s fitting that the final scene of the film takes place in a packed department store as Bill and Alice take their daughter Christmas shopping. Their final conversation of the film here serves as the Christmas movie trope of familial reconciliation (although not in the George Bailey way). Eyes Wide Shut works as effectively as it does because of Christmas’ integral part in the film's themes and atmosphere. It’s because of this that I see no argument for it not being a Christmas film. Although perhaps not one you’d rewatch every year with your family on Christmas Eve, it’ll never leave my December rotation of films. I don’t think it’ll leave my head either. I’m aware, but I probably shouldn’t risk looking.

Written By Matt Cooke | IG: @dontlookbackmatt