tom cruise dr who

New to Doctor Who or returning after a break? Check out our guides designed to help you find your way!

Tom Cruise was a famous film star. ( PROSE : The Egyptian Falcon , PROSE : A Star is Reborn ) He had gleaming straight white teeth . ( PROSE : Head of State )

Cruise appeared in Risky Business , in which his character danced around his own home in Ray-Bans . ( PROSE : A Star is Reborn )

Shortly following the London UFO crash on 6 March 2006 , ( TV : Aliens of London [+] Russell T Davies , Doctor Who series 1 ( BBC One , 2005 ). , etc.) carl commented on Who is Doctor Who? , that he did not believe in the alien landing , instead reckoning that it was just publicity for " that new Tom Cruise film ". Likewise, Rob reckoned that it was a hoax to sell "the latest Spielberg film". ( PROSE : Alien landing confirmed [+] Unknown, Who is Doctor Who? fiction ( BBC , 2005 ). )

The Tenth Doctor used the name "Tom Cruise", adding two Qs and a silent P , in Hollywood in 1926 . ( COMIC : Silver Scream )

Trystan and Sarah Thomas watched a Tom Cruise film the night that Sarah went into labour . ( PROSE : Bay of the Dead )

Andy Hansen watched Cruise's Mummy film. ( PROSE : The Egyptian Falcon )

Behind the scenes [ ]

Cruise played Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible film series. Archived recordings of his performance where used for Ethan in LEGO Dimensions .

• 2 Toclafane
• 3 The Toymaker

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, black writers week, the joke's on him: tom cruise and eyes wide shut.

The New York of “ Eyes Wide Shut ” is a dream of New York—a sex dream about an emotionally and carnally wound-up young man who denies his animal essence, his wife’s, and almost everyone’s. It’s a comedy. Stanley Kubrick ’s movies are comedies more often than not—coal-black; a tad goofy even when bloody and cruel; the kind where you aren’t sure if it’s appropriate to laugh, because the situations depicted are horrible and sad, the characters deluded. 

To make a film like this work, you need one of two types of lead actors: the kind that is plausible as a brilliant and insightful person who trips on his own arrogance (like Malcolm McDowell ’s Alex in “ A Clockwork Orange ,” Matthew Modine ’s Pvt. Joker in “ Full Metal Jacket ,” and Humbert Humbert in “Lolita”); or the kind that reads as a bit of a dope to start with, and never stops being one. The latter category encompasses most of the human characters in “ 2001: A Space Odyssey ”—first cavemen, then cavemen in spaceships, that legendary bone-to-orbit cut preparing us for the end sequence in which astronaut Dave Bowman evolves while gazing up in awe at the re-appeared monolith—and Ryan O’Neal as the title character of “ Barry Lyndon ,” a tragedy about a ridiculous and limited man who bleeds and suffers just like everyone, and is moving despite it all. 

Tom Cruise ’s Dr. Bill Harford in “Eyes Wide Shut” is the second kind of Kubrick hero. He’s is a bit of a dope but takes himself absolutely seriously, never looking inward, at least not as deeply as he should. An undercurrent of film noir runs through most if not all of Kubrick’s films. His first two features, the war fable “Fear and Desire” and the boxing potboiler “Killer’s Kiss,” were stylistically rooted in noir—“Fear and Desire,” like “ Paths of Glory ” and “Full Metal Jacket,” has terse, hardboiled narration, linking it to the most overtly noir-ish Kubrick film, his breakthrough “ The Killing .” The film noir hero tends to be a smart, ambitious, horny guy who lets his horniness overwhelm his judgement. Dr. Bill is a cuckolded film noir patsy turned film noir hero, cheated upon not in fact, but in his own imagination. And, in noir hero fashion, he gets drawn into a sexual/criminal conspiracy, this one involving the procurement of young women for anonymous orgies with rich older men. He’s always one step behind the architects of the plan, whatever it is, and he's never quite smart enough or observant enough to prove he saw what he saw. 

That’s Bill, a cinematic cousin of somebody like Fred MacMurray in “ Double Indemnity ” or William Hurt in “ Body Heat ,” but diminished and driving himself mad, a eunuch with blueballs, prowling city streets on on the knife-edge of Christmas, constantly taunted and humiliated, his heterosexuality and masculinity, indeed his essential carnality, questioned at every turn.

The doctor’s nighttime odyssey (like “2001,” this film is indebted to Homer) kicks off after he smokes pot with his gorgeous young wife Alice ( Nicole Kidman ) and she confesses a momentary craving for a sailor so powerful that she briefly considered throwing away her stable life just to have him. The revelation of the intensity of his wife’s sexual craving for someone other than him (fear and desire indeed) unmoors him from his comfortable existence and sends him careening around the city, where he encounters women who all seem to represent aspects of his wife, or his reductive view of her. They even have similar hair color. And if there are men in their lives—like Sidney Pollack’s Victor Ziegler, who calls Bill to deal with a young woman who overdosed on a speedball while in his company; or Rade Serbedjia’s  Millich, the pathologically controlling and jealous costume shop proprietor who accuses Bill of wanting to have sex with his teenage daughter ( Leelee Sobieski )— They mirror aspects of Bill. It’s surely no coincidence that the masks worn by the orgy participants are distinguished by their prominent (erect) Bills. Bill never actually strays, though. He keeps blundering into situations where sex seems imminent, and yet he couldn’t cheat on Alice even if he wanted to. He’s too bad to be good and too good to be bad. 

It still seems amazing that Cruise, among the most controlling of modern stars, gave himself to Kubrick so completely, letting himself be cast in such a sexually fumbling, baseline-schmucky part, the sort Matthew Broderick might've played for more obvious laughs (Kubrick originally wanted Steve Martin as Bill). Cruise built his star image playing handsome, fearless, cocky, ultra-heterosexual young men who mastered whatever skill or job they'd decided to practice, be it piloting fighter jets, driving race cars, playing pool, bartending, practicing law, representing pro athletes, or being a secret agent. Offscreen, the actor was long suspected of being closeted—a rumor amplified by his hyper-controlling relationships with a succession of public-facing spouses who read, from afar, less as wives than wife-symbols—and he sued media outlets that implied he was anything other than a 100% USDA-inspected slab of lady-loving, corn-fed American beefcake (thus the infamous 2006 “South Park” “ Tom won’t come out of the closet ” scene). 

So it was doubly startling for 1999 audiences to watch Cruise being swatted across the screen from one cringe-inducing psychosexual horror setpiece to the next, each enjoying its own version of a hearty pirate’s laugh at the idea of Cruise playing a butch straight man who dominates every room he’s in; and to witness his onscreen humiliation by homophobic frat boys. That same year, Cruise got an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor in “ Magnolia ,” playing a motivational speaker who admonishes his audience of baying young men to “respect the cock, tame the cunt.”

Cruise is a smart actor with often-excellent taste in material and collaborators; it’s inconcievable that he and his then-wife Kidman would submit themselves to over a year’s worth of grueling, repetitive shoots on Kubrick’s meticulously recreated New York sets in London without understanding what they were in for, at least partially. But what’s really important, from the standpoint of Cruise’s performance, is that he never seems as if he knows that the joke is on Bill. This doesn’t seem like the performance of an actor who has decided not to play his character as self-aware (like, say, Daniel Day-Lewis in “ The Last of the Mohicans ,” playing a character that  Entertainment Weekly ’s Owen Gleiberman described as seeming completely free of 20th century neuroses) but rather a not-too-self-aware actor throwing himself into every scene as if bound and determined to somehow “win” them. This is surely a vestigial leftover of the way Cruise acts in most Tom Cruise films, strutting and bobbing through scenes, getting into trouble, then smiling or talking or flying or running or acrobatting his way out. It’s a mode he can’t entirely turn off, but can only tamp down or allow to be subverted (which is what I think is happening in this movie, and in a few other against-the-grain Cruise performances). It’s as if Cruise travels the full narrative length of Kubrick’s dream trail encrusted by scholarly and journalistic and critical footnotes that have accumulated on his filmography since " Risky Business ." He’s the leading man as Christmas tree, festooned with lights and baubles. 

What perfect casting/what a great performance/what’s the difference? Is there any? Maybe not. Sometimes great casting is what allows for a great performance. John Frankenheimer cast Laurence Harvey , a handsome hunk of wood, as the brainwashed assassin in the 1962 version of “The Manchurian Candidate,” and his inability to tune in to his costars’ emotional wavelength works for the part; it translates as “repressed, tortured, closed off individual,” the type of guy who would be gobsmacked by an ordinary summer romance, to the point where it would constitute the core of a tragic backstory . Harvey’s inexpressiveness becomes a source of mirth when he’s put in the same frame with actors like Frank Sinatra , Angela Lansbury , or Akim Tamiroff, who get a predatory glint in their eye  when they sense the possibility of stealing a scene. They  know how to mess with people and have fun doing it, and poor, friendless Harvey is an irresistible target. and when Raymond expresses delight  that he was, however momentarily, “lovable,“ you can practically see the quote marks  around the word, and it’s as sad as it is hilarious.

Oliver Stone pulled off something similar when he cast Cruise as Ron Kovic in “ Born on the Fourth of July ,” a choice that Stone later said might’ve hurt the film at the American box office because nobody wanted to see the smirking flyboy from “ Top Gun ” castrated by a bullet, wheeling around with a catheter in his hand, cursing his mom and Richard Nixon . The star seeming not-entirely-in on—not the “joke,” exactly, but the  vision  of the movie—made Kovic’s dawning self-awareness of his participation in macho right-wing propaganda all the more effective. Kovic wanted to be like the guys on the recruiting poster, and now he couldn’t stand up and salute the lies anymore, and a lot of his friends were dead, along with untold numbers of Vietnamese. Al Pacino , who was cast in an aborted version “Born” a decade earlier, might not have been as effective as Cruise overall, because while Pacino is an altogether deeper actor, he’s so closely associated with men who have no illusions about how brutal and soul-draining American life and institutions can be. (Marvelous as his performance in “Serpico” is, it doesn’t start to take off until he’s in undercover cop mode, with that beard and long hair and beatnik/hippie energy. In the early scenes where he’s clean-shaven and idealistic, you just have to take Serpico's innocence on faith, because Al Pacino would never be that naive.)

Kubrick, no slouch at casting for affect, was especially good at filling lead male roles with actors who seemed to grasp the general outline of what the director was up to without radiating profound appreciation of the philosophical and cultural nuances. Ryan O’Neal in “ Barry Lyndon ” somehow works despite, or because of, seeming a bit stiff and anachronistic—out of his element in a lot of ways. His anxiety-verging-on-panic at not knowing whether he’s doing a good enough job for Kubrick fits perfectly with the character’s persistent insecurity and imposter syndrome. So does the shoddy Irish accent. 

Decades later, Ben Affleck in “ Gone Girl ” pulled an “Eyes Wide Shut”—or maybe it’s more accurate to say that director David Fincher pulled it by casting him. “The baggage he comes with is most useful to this movie,” Fincher told  Film Comment . “I was interested in him primarily because I needed someone who understood the stakes of the kind of public scrutiny that Nick is subjected to and the absurdity of trying to resist public opinion. Ben knows that, not conceptually, but by experience. When I first met with him, I said this is about a guy who gets his nuts in a vise in reel one and then the movie continues to tighten that vise for the next eight reels. And he was ready to play. It’s an easy thing for someone to say, 'Yeah, yeah, I’d love to be a part of that,' and then, on a daily basis, to ask: 'Really? Do I have to be that foolish? Do I have to step in it up to my knees?' Actors don’t like to be made the brunt of the joke. They go into acting to avoid that. Unlike comics, who are used to going face first into the ground.” 

Fincher subsequently poked fun at Affleck, in DVD narration and interview comments delivered in such a deadpan-vicious way that you couldn't tell if Fincher was venting in the guise of a put-on or doing an elaborate comedic bit. Either way, the gist was that Affleck was convincing as an untrustworthy person because he was himself untrustworthy. "He has to do these things in the foreground where he takes out his phone and looks at it and he puts it away so his sister doesn’t see it," Fincher said. "There are people who do that and it’s too pointed. But Ben is very very subtle, and there’s a kind of indirectness to the way he can do those things. Probably because he’s so duplicitous." Thus does the inherent untrustworthiness of Ben Affleck as both actor and person (according to Fincher, whether he's kidding or serious) become the framework for the entire performance's believability. This is a guy whose performance as an innocent man is judged by the media and public and immediately found lacking, and the character proves to be so much dumber than his conniving, vengeful wife that when the final scene arrives, we laugh at how inevitable it was. A more subtle, likable, deep leading man might've have ruined everything. Fincher needed a meathead who was funny and had read a few books, and who seemed to have a sixth sense for how to hide a cell phone from his sister.

This is similar to the idea of Kubrick cuckolding Cruise with an anecdote and sending him all over New York in search of satisfaction and insight that never quite, er, comes (although there’s a hint of hope in that final scene). On top of that, Affleck is an actor who is effective within a narrow range but will never be thought of as a chameleonic or particularly delicate performer—somebody who can play the subtext without overwhelming the text, or who can seamlessly integrate the two so that you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. 

That might be why Affleck disliked working with Terrence Malick , a highly improvisational filmmaker who deals in archetypes and symbols, and expects actors to devise a character while he’s devising the film that they’re in. Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt can do that; Affleck really can’t. The difference between Affleck and somebody like Pitt (or DiCaprio) is the difference between an old-fashioned square-jawed leading man-type, like Rock Hudson or Gary Cooper or Alan Ladd, who tried to stick to the words and hit the marks and color within the lines, and somebody like James Dean or Marlon Brando or Dennis Hopper , who treated every page as potential raw material for a collage they hadn’t thought up yet. That’s why Dean and Hudson played off each other so beautifully in “Giant”—Dean with his tormented Method affectations and odd expressions and voices, and Hudson playing the guy he’d been told to play, while often seeming puzzled or horrified by whatever Dean was doing opposite him, as if he’d been placed in the same room with a badger or wild boar and told “Now the two of you sit down and have a nice lunch while we film it.” 

I like to think of Cruise in “Eyes Wide Shut” as Rock Hudson turned loose in a Stanley Kubrick neo-noir dream, and not just for the obvious reasons. He’s in there angrily and desperately trying to win something that cannot be won, explain things that can’t be explained, and regain dignity that was lost a long time ago and will never come back. He keeps flashing his doctor’s ID as if he’s a detective (another film noir staple) working a case, and people indulge him not because they truly regard the ID as authority but because Bill’s intensity is just so damned odd that they aren’t sure how else to react. It’s hilarious because Bill doesn’t know how ridiculous it all is, and how ridiculous he is. He’s a movie star who lacks the movie star’s prerogative. Only by surrendering to the flow and accepting defeat can he survive. Only his wife, an awesome force unlocked in one moment, can save him. 

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

Latest blog posts

The Unloved, Part 127: Highlander II: The Quickening

“This Is The Life, Isn’t It?” Martin Mull: 1943-2024

Kevin Costner: The Last of the Cornball American Directors

Leaving A Mark Behind: Kevin Costner on Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1

Latest reviews.

A Quiet Place: Day One

Brian tallerico.

Last Summer

Christy lemire.

Sheila O'Malley

Green Border

Godfrey cheshire.

Kalki 2898 - AD

Simon abrams.

• Now Playing
• Airing Today
• Popular People
• Discussions
• Leaderboard
• Alternative Titles
• Cast & Crew
• Release Dates
• Translations
• Backdrops 42
• Content Issues 2

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

← back to main.

Dr. William Harford

Alice Harford

Victor Ziegler

Nick Nightingale

Marion Nathanson

Sandor Szavost

Milich's Daughter

Helena Harford

Ziegler's Secretary

Lou Nathanson

Rowdy College Kid

Naval Officer

Maître D' - Café Sonata

Japanese Man #1

Japanese Man #2

Mysterious Woman / Masked Party Principal

Tall Butler

Waitress at Gillespie's

Girl at Sharky's

Hospital Receptionist

Morgue Orderly

Masked Party Principal

Masked Party Principal (uncredited)

Hula Dancer (uncredited)

Mysterious Woman (voice) (uncredited)

Masked Party Guest (uncredited)

Man at Newsstand (uncredited)

Ballroom Dancer (uncredited)

Boy in Examination Room (uncredited)

Woman Behind Dr. Harford at Café Sonata (uncredited)

Mother of Boy in Examination Room (uncredited)

Background Artist (uncredited)

Man at Café Sonata (uncredited)

Leslie Tomkins

Production Design

Terry Wells Sr.

Property Master

Steve Clarke

Standby Painter

Martin Hume

Camera Operator

Craig Bloor

Clapper Loader

Keith Roberts

Larry Smith

Director of Photography

Jason Wrenn

Focus Puller

Rawdon Hayne

Malik Hassan Sayeed

Second Unit Director of Photography

Elizabeth Ziegler

Steadicam Operator

Pete Cavaciuti

Manuel Harlan

Still Photographer

Toby E. Cook

Costume & Makeup

Marit Allen

Costume Design

Timothy Everest

Nancy Thompson

Costume Supervisor

Hair Department Head

Robert McCann

Makeup Artist

Jacqueline Durran

Wardrobe Master

Yolande Snaith

Choreographer

Lighting Camera

C.J. Scheiner

Medical Consultant

Larry Celona

Arthur Jafa

Second Unit Cinematographer

Charles Staffell

Special Effects

Graham Povey

Special Effects Technician

Stanley Kubrick

Brian W. Cook

First Assistant Director

Annie Simpson

Script Supervisor

Adrian Toynton

Second Assistant Director

Claire Ferguson

Assistant Editor

Claus Wehlisch

Melanie Viner Cuneo

First Assistant Editor

Trevor Collins

Negative Cutter

Dean Wilkinson

Electrician

Shawn White

Paul Toomey

Ronnie Phillips

Anthony Richards

Standby Rigger

Lara Sargent

Assistant Accountant

Stella Wycherley

Denise Chamian

Leon Vitali

Abdul-Majeed Moulvi

Casting Assistant

Executive Producer

Tobin Hughes

Location Assistant

Angus More Gordon

Location Manager

Simon McNair Scott

Production Accountant

Rachel Hunt

Production Secretary

Assistant Sound Editor

Becki Ponting

Foley Editor

Didier de Cottigniers

Music Consultant

Jocelyn Pook

Original Music Composer

Sound Mixer, Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Anthony Cleal

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Graham V. Hartstone

Michael A. Carter

Paul Conway

Supervising Sound Editor

Arthur Schnitzler

Frederic Raphael

You need to be logged in to continue. Click here to login or here to sign up.

Can't find a movie or TV show? Login to create it.

On media pages

On tv season pages, on tv episode pages, on all image pages, on all edit pages, on discussion pages.

Want to rate or add this item to a list?

Not a member?

Sign up and join the community

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Tom cruise: dr. william harford.

• Photos (125)
• Quotes (35)

Photos 

Quotes 

Dr. Bill Harford : No dream is ever just a dream.

Alice Harford : Millions of years of evolution, right? Right? Men have to stick it in every place they can, but for women... women it is just about security and commitment and whatever the fuck else!

Dr. Bill Harford : A little oversimplified, Alice, but yes, something like that.

Alice Harford : If you men only knew...

Dr. Bill Harford : Now, where exactly are we going... exactly?

Gayle : Where the rainbow ends.

Dr. Bill Harford : Where the rainbow ends?

Nuala : Don't you want to go where the rainbow ends?

Dr. Bill Harford : Well, now that depends where that is.

Gayle : Well, let's find out.

[last lines] 

Alice Harford : The important thing is: we're awake now. And hopefully... for a long time to come.

Dr. Bill Harford : Forever.

Alice Harford : Forever?

Dr. Bill Harford : Forever!

Alice Harford : Let's not use that word, you know? It frightens me. But I do love you. And, you know, there's something very important that we need to do as soon as possible.

Dr. Bill Harford : What's that?

Alice Harford : Fuck.

Dr. Bill Harford : [Sobbing in front of Alice]  I'll tell you everything!

Dr. Bill Harford : The woman lying dead in the morgue was the woman at the party. Well, Victor, maybe I'm missing something here. You call it fake, a charade... Do you mind telling me what kind of fucking charade ends up with somebody turning up dead?

Victor Ziegler : [getting angry and defensive]  Okay Bill... let's cut the bullshit, alright? You've been way out of your depth for the last 24 hours! You want to know what kind of charade? I'll tell you what kind. That whole play-acted, "take me" phony sacrifice that you've been jerking off with had nothing to do with her real death. The truth is nothing happened to her after you left that party that hadn't happened to her before. She got her brains fucked out. Period! She was just fine when they took her back to her hotel room. And the rest is all there in the paper. There was no foul play regarding her death. She OD'd. She was alone in her room, her door was locked from the inside, the police are happy... end of story! Come on, Bill. You said it yourself to Mandy... that woman with the big tits who OD'd in my bathroom? She was an addict. You told her yourself the other night that it was only a matter of time before it came to that.

Dr. Bill Harford : Are you sure of that?

Alice Harford : Am I sure? Only as sure as I am that the reality of one night, let alone that of a whole lifetime, can ever be the whole truth.

Dr. Bill Harford : And no dream is ever just a dream.

Nick Nightingale : I play blindfolded.

Dr. Bill Harford : You're putting me on.

Nick Nightingale : No, it's the truth. And the last time, the blindfold wasn't on so well. Oh, man. Bill, I have seen one or two things in my life, but never, never anything like this - and never such women.

Victor Ziegler : Bill... What the hell did you think you were doing there? I couldn't... I couldn't even begin to imagine how you'd even heard about it, let alone got yourself through the front door. And then I remembered seeing you talking with that prick piano player, Nick... or whatever the fuck his name was, at my party here the other night. And it didn't take much to figure out the rest.

Dr. Bill Harford : It wasn't Nick's fault. It was mine.

Victor Ziegler : Of course it was Nick's fault! If he hadn't mentioned this to you in the first place, none of this would have happened. I recommended that little cocksucker to those people, and now he's made me look like a complete asshole by telling you about it!

Dr. Bill Harford : [humbly]  Victor... what can I say? I had absolutely no idea you were involved in any way.

Victor Ziegler : I know you didn't, Bill. But I also know that you went to Nick's hotel this morning and spoke with the desk clerk.

Dr. Bill Harford : How did you know that?

Victor Ziegler : Because I had you followed.

Dr. Bill Harford : You... you had me followed?

Victor Ziegler : Okay, yes I had you followed. I owe you an apology. I'm sorry. But it was for your own good. I know you went to Nick's hotel looking for him and I know what the desk clerk told you. But what the desk clerk didn't tell you was that those two men with Nick... all they did was drive Nick to the airport and put him on a plane back to Seattle. I assure you that Nick is safely back home and he's probably banging Mrs. Nick as we speak.

Dr. Bill Harford : The desk clerk said that Nick has a bruise on his face... a black eye. That he looked frightened as if he was just badly beaten up.

Victor Ziegler : Yeah? Okay, so Nick had a bruise. But that's the least he deserved for telling you about that party the other night.

Marion : I love you. I don't want to go away with Carl.

Dr. Bill Harford : Marion, I don't think you realize...

Marion : I do, even if I'm never to see you again, I want at least to live near you.

Dr. Bill Harford : Marion, listen to me, listen to me. You're very upset right now and I don't think you realize what you're saying.

Marion : I love you.

Dr. Bill Harford : We barely know each other. I don't think we've had a single conversation about anything except your father.

Dr. Bill Harford : There was a... there was a... there was, uh... a woman there. Who, uh, tried to warn me.

Victor Ziegler : I know.

Dr. Bill Harford : Do you know who she was?

Victor Ziegler : Yes. She was... she was a hooker. Sorry, but... that's what she was.

Dr. Bill Harford : A hooker?

Victor Ziegler : Bill, suppose I told you that... that everything that happened to you there... the threats, the- the girl's warnings, her last minute intervention, suppose I said that all of that... was staged. That it was a kind of charade. That it was fake.

Dr. Bill Harford : Fake?

Victor Ziegler : Yes, fake.

Dr. Bill Harford : Why would they do that?

Victor Ziegler : Why? In plain words... to scare the living shit out of you. To keep you quiet about where you'd been and what you'd seen.

[first lines] 

Dr. Bill Harford : Honey, have you seen my wallet?

Alice Harford : Isn't it on the bedside table?

Dr. Bill Harford : Now listen, you know we're running a little late.

Alice Harford : I know. How do I look?

Dr. Bill Harford : Perfect.

Alice Harford : Is my hair okay?

Dr. Bill Harford : It's great.

Alice Harford : You're not even looking at it.

Dr. Bill Harford : It's beautiful. You always look beautiful.

Red Cloak : [pleasantly]  Please, come forward. May I have the password please?

Dr. Bill Harford : Fidelio.

Red Cloak : That's right, sir! That is the password... for admittance. But may I ask, what is the password for the house?

Dr. Bill Harford : The password for the house...

Red Cloak : Yes?

Dr. Bill Harford : [short pause]  I'm sorry. I seem to have... forgotten it.

Red Cloak : That's unfortunate! Because here, it doesn't matter whether you have forgotten it... or if you never knew it. You will kindly remove your mask.

[Bill slowly removes his mask. The red cloaked cult leader continues talking in a pleasant tone] 

Red Cloak : Now, get undressed.

Dr. Bill Harford : [nervously]  Get... undressed?

Red Cloak : [sternly]  Remove your clothes.

Dr. Bill Harford : [hesitates]  Uh... gentlemen, please...

Red Cloak : Remove your clothes! Or would you like us to do it for you?

Dr. Bill Harford : You know what they say, once a doctor always a doctor.

Nick Nightingale : Yes, or in my case, never a doctor, never a doctor.

Dr. Bill Harford : Was it the second password? Is that what gave me away?

Victor Ziegler : Yes, finally. But not because you didn't know it. It's because there was no second password. Of course it didn't help you too much that those people arrived there in limos... and you showed up in a taxi. Or that when they took your coat, they found the receipt to the costume from the rental house in your pocket made out to you-know-who.

Victor Ziegler : Bill, I... I know what happened to you last night. And I know what's been going on since. And I think you just might have got the wrong idea about one or two things.

Dr. Bill Harford : [feigning ignorance]  I'm sorry Victor, but... what the hell are you talking about?

Victor Ziegler : Please, Bill... no games. I was there. At the house. "The house". I saw you, Bill. I saw everything.

Gayle : Do you know what's so nice about doctors?

Dr. Bill Harford : Usually a lot less than people imagine.

Gayle : They always seem so knowledgeable.

Dr. Bill Harford : Oh, they are very knowledgeable about all sorts of things.

Gayle : But I bet they work too hard. Just think of all they miss.

Dr. Bill Harford : You're probably right.

Mysterious Woman : Stop! Let him go! I am ready to redeem him. Take me!

Red Cloak : [stands up from his throne]  You are ready to redeem him? Do you realize what you are taking upon yourself... in doing this?

Mysterious Woman : Yes!

[there is a pause as the masked and cloaked cult members murmer and gasp while Bill looks on] 

Red Cloak : Very well. Take her away.

[to Bill] 

Red Cloak : Mister... you are free to go. But I warn you... if you make any further inquires, or if you tell a single soul about what you've seen here tonight... there will be very dire consequences for you and your family! Do you understand?

Dr. Bill Harford : [as he watches the mysterious woman being led away by another cult member]  What is going to happen to that woman?

Red Cloak : No one can change her fate now. When a promise has been made here, there is no turning back. As for you... you are free. Go!

Alice Harford : You sound very sure of yourself.

Dr. Bill Harford : I'm not, I'm sure of you.

Alice Harford : How do you feel about wrapping the rest of the presents?

Dr. Bill Harford : Maybe tomorrow night.

Alice Harford : You should call the Zieglers and thank them for the party.

Dr. Bill Harford : I've already taken care of that.

Alice Harford : Why do think Ziegler invites us to these things every year?

Dr. Bill Harford : This is what you get for making house calls.

Dr. Bill Harford : I know you would never be unfaithful to me.

Mysterious Woman : [whispering]  I don't think you realize the danger you're in now. You cannot fool them for much longer. You need to get away, right now, before it's too late!

Dr. Bill Harford : Why are you telling me this?

Mysterious Woman : It doesn't matter.

Dr. Bill Harford : Who are you?

Mysterious Woman : Believe me, you don't want to know.

Dr. Bill Harford : Will you come with me?

Mysterious Woman : That's impossible.

Dr. Bill Harford : Why?

Mysterious Woman : Because it could cost me my life, and probably yours.

Dr. Bill Harford : [moves to remove her mask]  At least let me see your face.

Mysterious Woman : No! Go... now!

[the mysterious woman exits] 

Dr. Bill Harford : Let's just - relax, Alice. This pot is making you aggressive.

Alice Harford : No! It's not the pot. It's you! Why can't you ever give me a straight fucking answer?

Dr. Bill Harford : I was under the impression that's what I was doing. I don't even know what we're arguing about here.

Dr. Bill Harford : What did he want?

Alice Harford : What did he want? Oh, what did he want? Sex. Upstairs. Then and there.

Dr. Bill Harford : Is that all?

Dr. Bill Harford : This is what you get for making House Calls.

Dr. Bill Harford : One of my patients died. I have to show my face.

Victor Ziegler : Sorry to call you out so late tonight.

Dr. Bill Harford : That's OK, I was out anyway.

Victor Ziegler : How about a drink?

Dr. Bill Harford : Are you having one?

Victor Ziegler : Sure! What would you like?

Dr. Bill Harford : Uh, I'll have a little scotch.

Victor Ziegler : Good. How do you take it, neat?

Mysterious Woman : [at the masked orgy]  I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing, but you obviously don't belong here.

Dr. Bill Harford : I'm sorry. I think you must have me mistaken for someone else.

Mysterious Woman : [whispering]  Don't be crazy. You are in great danger.

Domino : Would you like to come inside with me?

Dr. Bill Harford : Come inside with you?

Alice Harford : Let's say, for example, you have some gorgeous woman standing in your office naked and you're feeling her fucking tits. Now, what I want to know - I want to know what you're thinking about when you're squeezing them.

Dr. Bill Harford : Alice, I happen to be a doctor. It's all very impersonal.

Dr. Bill Harford : Do you suppose we should talk about money?

Domino : Yeah, I guess so. That depends on what you want to do. What do you want to do?

Dr. Bill Harford : Well, what do you recommend?

Domino : [giggles]  What do I recommend? Hmm. Well, I'd rather not put it into words. How about you just leave it up to me?

Dr. Bill Harford : I'm in your hands.

Alice Harford : Maybe I think we should be grateful. Grateful that we've managed to survive through all of our adventures - whether they were real - or only a dream.

Dr. Bill Harford : What's the big mystery?

Nick Nightingale : Hey, man, I just play the piano.

Alice Harford : There is something very important that we need to do as soon as possible...

Release Dates | Official Sites | Company Credits | Filming & Production | Technical Specs

• Full Cast and Crew
• Release Dates
• Official Sites
• Company Credits
• Filming & Production
• Technical Specs
• Plot Summary
• Plot Keywords
• Parents Guide

Did You Know?

• Crazy Credits
• Alternate Versions
• Connections
• Soundtracks

Photo & Video

• Photo Gallery
• Trailers and Videos
• User Reviews
• User Ratings
• External Reviews
• Metacritic Reviews

Related Items

• External Sites

Related lists from IMDb users

Recently Viewed

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Film Colossus

Your Guide to Movies

Eyes Wide Shut explained

Welcome to our Colossus Movie Guide for Eyes Wide Shut . This guide contains everything you need to understand the film. Dive into our detailed library of content, covering key aspects of the movie. We encourage your comments to help us create the best possible guide. Thank you!

What is Eyes Wide Shut about?

Eyes Wide Shut is about the rehabilitation of a marriage, and the mentality required to do so. Bill thinks he completely understands his relationship with his wife Alice, and believes is just as faithfully obedient as himself. But as he learns, neither he nor Alice are strong enough to push away every urge. After Alice confesses she once dreamt of sleeping with a naval office, Bill embarks on an Odyssean journey through New York City. Out of jealousy, he is desperate to live out what Alice only dreamed of.

This is a key in-road to understanding Eyes Wide Shut : it’s all a dream . Well, maybe not literally a dream. But in the symbolic movie sense, Bill’s entire adventure is laden with outrageous, otherworldly moments that force him to pretend to be someone he isn’t. As somebody who held an absurd illusion about his marriage, he understandably employs a radical approach in the opposite direction. Instead of being eternally faithful to his wife, he intends to cheat. But much like his idyllic view of marriage, his cynical one is full of lies and mirages.

Going from one extreme to the other, Bill must understand how empty these radically opposing ends are. He must experience a sort of personal hell upon hearing his wife’s story, as he must understand that his wife is more complicated than the cookie-cutter mold he’s envisioned; and he must experience an outwardly hell in the form of secret societies that hold orgies, as he must see how people like Ziegler have no passion for sex. Bill must come back to the middle where his wife is waiting, desperate to form a deeper connection that allows them to see one another for who they truly are.

Movie Guide table of contents

The ending of eyes wide shut explained, the themes and meaning of eyes wide shut.

• Why is the movie called Eyes Wide Shut?

Important motifs in Eyes Wide Shut

Questions & answers about eyes wide shut.

• Tom Cruise – Dr. William “Bill” Harford
• Nicole Kidman – Alice Harford
• Sydney Pollack – Victor Ziegler
• Todd Field – Nick Nightingale
• Marie Richardson – Marion Nathanson
• Sky du Mont – Sandor Szavost
• Rade Šerbedžija – Mr. Milich
• Thomas Gibson – Carl
• Vinessa Shaw – Domino
• Fay Masterson – Sally
• Alan Cumming – Hotel Desk Clerk
• Leelee Sobieski – Milich’s daughter
• Leon Vitali – Red Cloak
• Julienne Davis – Amanda “Mandy” Curran
• Madison Eginton – Helena Harford
• Abigail Good – Mysterious Woman
• Gary Goba – Naval Officer
• Based on – Traumnovelle by Arthur Schnizler
• Written by – Stanley Kubrick | Frederic Raphael
• Directed by – Stanley Kubrick

Eyes Wide Shut was famously Stanley Kubrick’s last film, as he died weeks before the film’s release—which was a strange pill to swallow for many. Critics trashed the film as indulgent and passive, while casual moviegoers found the movie’s dream-like style and apathetic tone elusive. Even fans who were used to seeming impersonality of Kubrick’s films may have been taken aback by the movie’s cold, almost observational approach to Bill Harford’s mental torture. Film critic James Naremore put it perfectly when he said that Kubrick’s unique style gives “a sense of authorial understanding without immersion, as if volcanic, almost infantile feelings were being observed in a lucid, rational manner.” This approach reached its apex in Eyes Wide Shut .

Especially through the final word of the film—a truly jarring moment that leaves you wondering what the movie’s about. The movie ends with Bill and Alice walking through a department store with their daughter Helena while Christmas shopping. They are fresh from a night of no sleep, during which Bill confessed all his transgressions—from the orgy to the hooker to his potential involvement with a woman’s murder. The energy is awkward between them, as they force smiles while Helena excitedly runs around picking up toys. Finally, Bill stops them to ask what they should do next, what Alice is thinking about everything that happened.

Here’s the conversation that follows:

Alice: “Maybe, I think, we should be grateful. Grateful that we’ve managed to survive through all of our adventures, whether they were real or only a dream.” Bill: “Are you sure of that?” Alice: “Am I sure? Only as sure as I am that the reality of one night, let alone that of a whole lifetime, can ever be the whole truth.” Bill: “And no dream is ever just a dream.” Alice: The important thing is, we’re awake now. And hopefully…for a long time to come. Bill: Forever. Alice: Forever? Bill: Forever! Alice: Let’s not use that word, you know? It frightens me. But I do love you. And, you know, there’s something very important that we need to do as soon as possible. Bill: What’s that? Alice: Fuck.

There’s a lot to unpack in that dialogue. But as we go through it line by line, we can understand what exactly the ending of Eyes Wide Shut is trying to say, and how it brings clarity and catharsis to the movie’s themes and motifs .

Notice how Bill isn’t the one to begin the conversation—this lines up with everything we’ve learned about him. After everything he has laid upon Alice the previous night, he finds himself in a comatose state. Alice may have confessed her desire to commit infidelity, but it was only a fantasy and never acted upon. Bill, on the other hand, very much desired to commit adultery and went through the steps of doing so. But his impotence is key here. Bill asserts authority at every turn, flashing his doctor’s license, believing he should have access to anything (say, information about where Nick Nightingale is staying) or anyone (say, hookers at a mass orgy). But Bill is repeatedly thwarted and denied sex. He is constantly at the expense of others; a pawn in powerful men’s elaborate game. When brought before the man in the red cloak, Bill isn’t heroic, but frozen. He is, through and through, a passive person who lives a privileged life. He believes his is important because he’s a wealthy doctor—he isn’t. And he believes his marriage is thriving because both he and his wife are eternally devoted to one another—they aren’t.

Alice is truly the strong foundation of the relationship. She loves Bill for his tenderness, but she also feels sad about Bill’s undying adoration. He is not someone, as we see in the movie, who commands or dictates or influences. He is, sadly, a small man surrounded by powerful ones, a husband who views his marriage as black and white unlike his wife. Perhaps the one act that would assuredly give Bill some machismo is sleeping with another woman, and even there he fails and is emasculated.

So, it makes sense that Alice must start this conversation. She’s able to make sense of their dramatic situation, to put all their feelings into words in a manner Bill could not. And she’s able to recognize something very simple and truthful about Bill’s sins: sex never came to fruition. Bill wanted to have sex, and perhaps would have been able to do it if he were a stronger man. But, in the end, his adventure had the same air as Alice’s fantasies: it was nothing more than a dream.

This explains the ghostly tone throughout the film: the dead air, the long pauses, the parrot-like repetition of thoughts; the washes of red and blues, the masks concealing people’s faces, the constant lack of understanding. This feeling is most unmistakable during the scene where the man in the red cloak demands that Bill strip down. Bill’s reaction is one of utter bewilderment, and his face constantly suggests, “What the hell have I gotten myself into? Who are these people?” Yet, like a dream, he’s pulled right back into the world, compelled to decipher its every element.

In this sense, you can view Bill’s Odyssean adventure as just that: a dream. Movies often serve as allegories for the universal truths of life, with the situations serving as the infrastructure for life’s most common dilemmas, with the characters accentuating certain fears and desires, with the aesthetic adding color and commentary to it all. So, we can think of Bill’s crazy journey as a purely internal one that reflects his desire to gain a sense of authority, to even the playing field with his wife. It’s all very childish and not very well thought out—a knee-jerk reaction that sends him down an absurd road with dire consequences.

Perhaps Alice is able to recognize this. Perhaps she’s able to look past the reality of her husband’s sins and look deeper to his imperfections, to the pure sadness within.

Her sexual fantasy sent Bill into a pit of despair—much further than she ever dreamed. She knew she needed to express her sexual desires to wake Bill up, to open his eyes, to make him see her for who she truly is. As we discussed in the themes section, marriages thrive on honesty and understanding. This means being accepting of your partner’s flaws and their susceptibility to change. And she knew that Bill’s idyllic vision of her and their marriage wasn’t an honest one—it was a facade. An idea. A dream of a better life.

And what else would a disillusioned man do but radically push his disillusion in the opposite direction? To deal with the destruction of his idyllic marriage, he went on an adulterous voyage out of pure jealousy. It’s exactly what a broken man would do. He is nothing without Alice, and it seems she recognizes that in these moments.

In this light, that first line makes a lot of sense: “Maybe, I think, we should be grateful. Grateful that we’ve managed to survive through all of our adventures, whether they were real or only a dream.” Is she sure of that? Sort of. “Only as sure as I am that the reality of one night, let alone that of a whole lifetime, can ever be the whole truth.”

Here, we see Alice respecting the mystery of life. She was ready to have sex with the naval officer, even if it meant ending her marriage and losing her daughter. It would have been completely self-destructive and stupid—yet, she was ready to do it. Bill’s adventure was every bit as self-destructive and stupid. But Alice recognizes the undeniable allure that pulled him in. Is it OK that he tried to cheat on her? Maybe that’s the wrong question. Maybe it’s better to recognize that this awkward feeling grips us all, that it’s really fucking hard to be faithful in a marriage, that making a relationship work for years on end requires you to accept that some wishes and desires just don’t really make much sense.

Alice stands as a heroic figure alongside Ziegler, who tries to explain away Bill’s odyssey with simple facts: Mandy wasn’t murdered, and in fact “got her brains fucked out” after Bill left; and Nick wasn’t killed, but instead put on a plane to Seattle where he is currently “banging Mrs. Nick.” Ziegler wishes to remove all mystery and wonder from sex; to open Bill’s eyes to the reality of his sad situation, to reveal that he was never in control.

But Alice says just the opposite. In a movie where sex is both the most desired thing in the world and painstakingly absent and barren, she gives sex the intensity it deserves. These thoughts, these fantasies consume men and women who are trying to make marriages work, and it’s upon them to draw distinctions. Bill may have tried to cheat on Alice, but he didn’t necessarily want to cheat on Alice. He was compelled by a force greater than himself, drawn into a farcical night that very well could have played out as a comedy of errors in any other film. (A note here: Kubrick did envision Eyes Wide Shut as a comedy for many years, envisioning someone like Steve Martin or Bill Murray in the lead role.)

This helps us understand Bill’s next line: “And no dream is ever just a dream.” This isn’t a question, but a realization. Ziegler may have opened Bill’s eyes to his small status, but Alice opened his eyes—opened his mind—to the beauties and complexities of marriage. Where Ziegler wishes to simplify, Alice strives to rebuild; to bring clarity to their relationship, to their shared love. In this moment, as we discussed in the title section, Bill’s eyes are wide open .

And it’s important that his eyes stay open. There’s no talk about “forever,” because forever isn’t realistic. But it is realistic to try as hard as you can, to recognize and accept the flaws in your partner, to form an undeniable connection with your partner that cannot be replicated with anyone else. And what better way to do that than to…well.

Stanley Kubrick’s personal connection to Eyes Wide Shut

For all of the wild and fantastical places that Kubrick’s movies go, Eyes Wide Shut is his most ordinary in its depiction of married life. While at times the colors and speech patterns feel dream-like, the story at the film’s core is a very personal one that Kubrick had envisioned telling for years. Understanding some of these facts about his life will aid our analysis of the film.

Kubrick first read the movie’s source material, “Dream Story” (the German translation was “Traumnovelle”) by Arthur Schnitzler, back in the early 1960s. The novella focuses on a couple, Fridolin and Albertine, with a young daughter in 20th-century Vienna. The couple exchanges stories about their sexual fantasies, which strikes Fridolin with jealousy. In rebellion, he makes it his mission to have sex with a younger woman. Much like the movie, he repeatedly fails in doing so: after a number of near-sexual encounters, including a visit to a masked orgy, he returns home from this “senseless night with its stupid unresolved adventures.” The book ends with Fridolin apologetically confessing his crazy night to Albertine. Just as the couple reaffirms their love in the wee hours of the morning, they hear their daughter’s laughter as she wakes up in the next room.

This material sparked both interest and fear in Kubrick, who struggled for several years to find the right partner. Kubrick was married three times, and his marriage to his second wife, Ruth Sobotka, was especially troubling and trying—which undoubtedly drove his interest in the film. His third, however, to Christiane Harlan, was lovely and brought catharsis to his life—which is what likely kept him from making the movie for so many years. Back in 1962 when Kubrick wanted to make “Dream Story” after Lolita , Kubrick said (this is according to Tom Cruise) Christiane begged him not to. “Don’t…oh, please don’t…not now. We’re so young. Let’s not go through this right now.”

Over the years, Kubrick wanted to make the movie several more times, but never found the right moment. Towards the end of his life, however (Kubrick would die mere weeks before Eyes Wide Shut ‘s release), he must have felt confident enough in his marriage, in he and Christiane’s love, to finally find the humanism within the darkness that is Eyes Wide Shut ‘s story. We see that humanity, the promise of a better future, in the final moments of the film .

But in order to achieve the ending’s beautiful life-affirming catharsis, Kubrick first had to explore the complications of marriage that haunted him for years through Bill’s Odyssean journey in Eyes Wide Shut . It helps that he enlisted a real-life celebrity couple—Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, who themselves were overexposed and experienced turmoil at the hands of the press—to play Bill and Alice.

As Kubrick often did, he psychologically evaluated his actors—but much more so than he ever had before. He became incredibly intimate with Cruise and Kidman over the course of Eyes Wide Shut ‘s insanely long 16-month shooting schedule. “[Kubrick] knew us and our relationship as no one else does,” said Kidman, and that, he got to know her “better even than [my] parents.”

This connection between director and actors was crucial, as Eyes Wide Shut became intimately attached to Kubrick’s personal life. As David Mikics wrote in the biography “ Stanley Kubrick: American Filmmaker “:

This intensity declares the crucial role that Eyes Wide Shut played in Kubrick’s psyche, as if the movie were the enfolded meaning of his life. Kubrick’s identification of himself with Bill was clear. Young Stanley had imagined becoming a doctor like his father. Like Bill, Kubrick was polite rather than flirtatious with women, but driven to sexual fantasy. The Harfords’ apartment was modeled on the Kubricks’ own on the Upper West Side in the early sixties, when Kubrick first wanted to make Dream Story. Eyes Wide Shut, a slow ritual of a movie, was designed to free Kubrick from the obsession with control that it also embodies, to provide a release into renewed relationship with the wife who had been at his side for four decades, with Tom and Nicole standing in for Stanley and Christiane. David Mikics, “Stanley Kubrick: American Filmmaker”

The strength required to make marriage flourish

The result of Kubrick’s obsession with the themes of “Dream Work” and his close relationship with Kidman and Cruise is a film that takes a deep look into the troubles people face in marriage—and the resulting beauty that’s found on the other side of such trauma. Take Bill, who is completely naive about his wife’s sexual inclinations and unwavering faith. When Alice asks Bill if he had sex with the two models at Ziegler’s party, Bill is indignant and defensive, claiming he is eternally loyal to his wife. And then he makes the mistake of stating that women are not ruled by desire like men, who which she responds with “If you men only knew…”

She then tells, in excruciating detail, of her fantasy with the naval officer. “I thought that if he wanted me, even if it was for only one night, I was ready to give up everything. You, Helena, my whole fucking future.” Bill has envisioned a cookie-cutter version of his life where faithfulness is never questioned. But, as anyone who has experience with long-term relationships would know, that is simply not a reality. on set, Kubrick even toyed with Cruise by shooting Kidman’s sex scenes with the naval officer on days when Cruise was absent, firmly placing the actor in Bill’s shoes. The entire dynamic between director and his actors informs the film’s entire mood, feel, aesthetic.

Alice, on the other hand, only purports strength regarding her sexual urges and condescension towards Bill’s naivete. When recounting her fantasy with the naval officer, she sounds so sure of herself and her sexual inclinations. However, it becomes clear she is troubled by her flirtation with martial destruction, which causes her to cry in Bill’s arms after she wakes up from a vivid dream about an orgy.

As Mikics notes, “Kidman’s acting here is full of expert grace notes that conceal as much as they reveal. She is by turns absorbed, defiant, charged with mockery, and, as she puts it, tender and sad.” Alice pushes Bill to recognize her as a complicated human being with flaws and jagged edges, and not simply as the idyllic, eternally faithful wife. Yet, as we learn in the end, she finds immense power in lifelong love and friendship.

This pushes Bill to live out the sexual encounter that Alice only dreamed about, which in turn gives Eyes Wide Shut an ethereal feel. He descends into unknown territory; a realm that attempts to become a realized version of Alice’s mere fantasies. Yet, despite his efforts, Bill never actually has sex with anyone else—it all remains a dream; a vision of what turmoil could potentially befall this married couple. Their fantasies about extramarital affairs present dire consequences, such as the cloaked men who about to strip Bill bare and possibly kill him, or the dozens of men who cause Alice’s fit of laughter during a dream.

It’s a symbolic representation of Bill and Alice’s disconnect, or their inability to communicate and deepen their love this far into their marriage. With Christmas around the corner, with their daughter growing older, the pressure to form a deeper connection is palpable. This tension reaches its breaking point when Bill confesses his transgressions to Alice, which triggers the movie’s cathartic end when Alice makes a commitment to improving their marriage.

Viewing Eyes Wide Shut as a comedy

There is a famous trope in Hollywood called “the comedy of remarriage,” which usually focuses on a couple whose relationship is on the rocks. It was a classic formula used in such movies as The Philadelphia Story and The Awful Truth , and is even utilized these days by films like It’s Complicated . Outrageous, slapstick scenarios consume couples who are trying to fix (or end) their relationship. Witty, rapid-fire dialogue consumes their hectic lives as they march away from each other, only to find each other in the end and realize why they got married in the first place. Believe it or not, Kubrick had a version of this sub-genre in mind when considering actors back in the 1980s, as he heavily sought out comedians like Steve Martin.

As you can see, Eyes Wide Shut became something very different. The movie very much uses the structure of a comedy of remarriage, but carries an entirely different tone. The situations Bill finds himself in are just as crazy, but the energy practically zapped away. There is a cold, dense atmosphere to the chilling settings that surround Bill and Alice as they go through a rough patch in their marriage. In truth, you could very well view Eyes Wide Shut as a comedy—a much more biting, tenacious one than either Howard Hawks or Preston Sturges would ever muster.

So how does this help us understand the meaning of the film? Well, think of it more as a way to watch the movie. Pretend everything you see is supposed to be…funny. It’s black comedy, sure. But it’s funny. Perhaps even funny in the way that Dr. Strangelove is funny, as it’s supposed to serve as commentary for a grander societal problem. Where Dr. Strangelove tacked the stupidity of war, Eyes Wide Shut is much more humanistic in its depiction of the human struggle in marriage. None of this is supposed to be funny…but it is pretty funny in movies like His Girl Friday or The Palm Beach Story . Through the lens of “comedy,” we can view Bill’s night out as a ridiculous cavalcade of nonsense that forces him to understand the importance of connecting with his wife.

Why is the movie called Eyes Wide Shut ?

Frederic Raphael, who helped Kubrick write the screenplay for Eyes Wide Shut , did not like the title of the film. In his memoir about working with Kubrick, he revealed he had pitched the “much better” title The Female Subject —which, when you consider the enigmatic and visuals-focused Kubrick, who was first and foremost concerned with poetically capturing the human condition, this on-the-nose title likely did not appeal to him.

Kubrick instead opted for metaphorical title that’s a play on words. The common phrase is “eyes wide open,” meaning you are aware of your surroundings. But adding “shut” implies that you couldn’t be more unaware of your surroundings. The “eyes wide” part implies you are very confident in your views, but the irony is that you don’t understand anything at all.

This echoes the scene when Bill implies that women are not ruled by their desire like men are—which causes Alice to have a laughing fit. “If you men only knew…” she says before telling Bill of her sexual fantasies about the naval officer. Bill believes that his marriage is sound, that he and Alice are unflinchingly devoted to one another. But Alice was ready to give up her entire life—her marriage, her financial security, her daughter—for a one night stand.

And as Bill will soon find out, he’s more that willing to become adulterous purely out of jealousy. His wife never even cheated on him, but the fact that she thought about it is enough for him to go against his seeming virtues. Bill thought he saw he and his wife a certain way—until Alice forced his eyes open. And in a way, Bill has opened Alice’s eyes as well, as she sees how her candidness about her sexual fantasies drives Bill to horrifying lengths.

As David Mikics notes in his biography “ Stanley Kubrick: American Filmmaker, ” the director likely sought to echo Ben Franklin’s famous quote with the title Eyes Wide Shut : “Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.” This statement implies that people are always changing. You, of course, want to be sure about the person you’re marrying; you want to see them for who they are and what they can add to your life. But you must also understand that everybody goes through both minimal and monumental changes. Humans are complicated creatures, and our path towards fulfillment and catharsis is ever-changing. To make a marriage last, to extract as much as you can from your partner, you need to be accepting of your partner’s ebbs and flows—all their whims, all their flaws.

After Bill’s eyes have been opened to the emptiness of sexual escapades, and after Alice’s eyes have been open to what pain she caused her husband, they’re able to see one another for who they truly are. Bill, a successful and rich doctor who thinks of himself as an important figure, is emasculated by both his wife and the people in power, destroying his perception of both his personal life and the larger world around him; and Alice is able to recognize that Bill’s tenderness brings comfort that a one-night stand could never fulfill, that his undying devotion can become fragile without love in return. After they open their eyes and see themselves in a new light, they’re able to recognize the next step their relationship desperately require to move forward, to gain new meaning and clarity after years of marriage.

Bill Harford is a man who thinks he’s much bigger than he is. A large part of this movie deals with his emasculation, at the hands of both his wife and the powerful men at the orgy. Bill, who flashes his doctor’s license like it’s a police badge, constantly tries to prop his ego and imply importance. But it’s all a facade. He might as well be wearing a costume, a mask—which is exactly what he wears at the orgy to convey that he belongs with this crowd.

As we’ve discussed throughout this guide, much of Bill’s Odyssean adventure has a dream-like feel. And that’s because the movie explores the fantasies and desires we often reflect upon during a marriage, but rarely ever act upon. In this strange world, Bill is never himself. He’s trying to be someone he’s not—someone vengeful, someone commanding. But the powerful men at the orgy hold the true power when they threaten to strip him naked. And Alice holds the true power when she reveals herself after Bill casts an idyllic obedient-wife persona upon her. In both cases, Bill is trying to cast a specific image, to be in control of his surroundings. But, sadly, that isn’t him. He’s merely posing as someone else( which helps explain the symbolic shot of Bill’s mask resting on the pillow next to Alice). And the entire movie serves to unveil his mask and open his eyes— wide open .

Powerful men

An important theme in Eyes Wide Shut is the futility of rebellion. A common trope in Kubrick’s movies, including A Clockwork Orange , Dr. Strangelove , and Lolita , a character’s “master plan” almost always fails, or is sidetracked by the greater powers that be. An inverse of the typical hero’s journey, Kubrick’s films aim to reveal the cold, stark reality of living. We often feel like we’re in control, would like to believe we’re in control, but deep down know that we have no control over what happens to us. The universe is too random, too cruel to allow for a carefree existence.

In Eyes Wide Shut , Bill learns this the hard way through the powerful men who run an orgy. Bill, who believes himself to be a rich and important man, shows up to the orgy with the password “fidelio” like he belongs there. But he is instantly spotted. He showed up in a taxi while everyone else came in a limo. His energy is awkward, and his responses are forced. Immediately, these powerful men—who are much more rich and important than Bill will probably every be—can suss him out.

Essentially, these powerful men, who for the most part remain nameless and hidden, serve as powerful forces in the universe. Bill’s night has dream-like qualities and never quite feels like reality. He wants to believe he’s part of this crowd…but really, he doesn’t belong here at all. These are the men who make decisions, who decide your fate. They are pulling the strings behind the curtain. And you’re just a pawn in their game.

Who is the man in the red cloak?

Seemingly, the answer to this one lies in the credits: the actor Leon Vitali is listed as the man in the read cloak. This is somebody we never see in the movie. Which means we never know who the man in the red cloak actually is.

As Rob Ager points out in his video , we see Vitali’s name in the newspaper article about the prostitute that died of a drug overdose that Zeigler shows to Bill at his mansion. At the end of the article about the dead hooker, it details that the hooker had an affair with a London fashion designed named Leon Vitali. So, essentially, Vitali—who was Kubrick’s personal assistant for years—is playing a much more powerful version of himself (this could be viewed as a bit of an inside joke on Kubrick’s part). This implies that the woman who saved Bill had an intimate relationship with the man in the red cloak, which may have been why Bill was singled out in the first place.

So, question answered. Right?

Well, as with any Kubrick film, the answer may not be that simple. Vitali the actor may have very well been the physical presence underneath the cloak, which is why he’d get the credit. But that doesn’t mean his character was underneath the cloak. Many believe that all signs, in fact, point to Ziegler.

One point in this theory’s favor is Mandy, the woman who almost overdosed in the bathroom at Ziegler’s house. While this woman is played by a different actress (Julienne Davis) than the one credited to the masked prostitute (Abigail Good), the woman in the mask who saves Bill, that doesn’t necessarily mean—as would have been the case with Ziegler/Vitali—that it’s the same character . But, in my opinion, that requires you to do too much stretching to make this theory work.

The other points of this theory are in this vein. For instance, people believe Ziegler’s red pool table is meant to convey he’s the man in the read cloak—which, if you ask me, feels too simplistic for someone like Kubrick. The man in the red cloak had an English accent, while Ziegler does not. Perhaps he was concealing his voice, but once again, this requires you to invent reasons to make a theory work.

Basically, I think Leon Vitali is the fashion designer. Ziegler tells Bill that if he “knew half the people who were there, he wouldn’t sleep so good,” which means these are powerful men with intense connections. Give how famous Vitali is as a fashion designer in the world of Eyes Wide Shut , it signals that this society of men is very powerful and well established. It would be in Kubrick’s best interest to just let us know Vitali was the man in the red cloak because it helps clarify the themes and motifs of the movie. To me, it’s that simple.

Who is the masked girl that saved Bill?

Many people theorize that Mandy, the prostitute who almost overdosed in Ziegler’s bathroom, is actually the woman in the mask. This is conflicting, because the actress credited as the woman in the mask, Abigail Good, is different than the actress who played Mandy, Julienne Davis. As we discussed in the red cloak section , this theory requires us to believe that different actresses could be playing the same woman just to throw us off.

I personally don’t buy this theory. It’s fun to play detective with Eyes Wide Shut , a movie that has so much going on. People do the same thing with movies like The Shining . But as a big Kubrick fan who’s read a lot about him, he’s never struck me as someone who hides a bunch of clues and misleads an audience. His movies are more visual-heavy, yes, and don’t rely upon dialogue to convey ideas. So I don’t think it’s much worth reading into this one.

I think it’s more prudent to consider the masked woman’s symbolic presence, as she represents Bill’s inner-conscious during his night out. Out of spite and jealousy, Bill is desperate to turn his wife’s fantasy about the naval officer into a reality. Bill weasels his way into the orgy and pretends that he belongs here—but we all know he doesn’t. He is a small man trying to re-masculate himself after hearing his wife’s fantasy. The masked woman only temporarily satisfies his ego, only to once again emasculate him and send Bill back home where the real work needs to be done.

What does Milich’s daughter whisper to Bill?

If you turn the subtitles on, you can actually find the answer to this question. At the Rainbow costume shop, Milich’s daughter whispers, “You should have a cloak lined with ermine.” Ermine fur comes from a weasel, and that statement has a double meaning.

On a literal plot level, it’s a fancy material for coats, which would help Bill blend in at the orgy scene filled with powerful men (since he himself is not a very powerful man). But on a symbolic level, this labels Bill as a weasel—an impostor who sly sneaks into an event in order to prop up his ego.

Well done, Kubrick. Well done.

Now it’s your turn

Have more unanswered questions about Eyes Wide Shut ? Are there themes or motifs we missed? Is there more to explain about the ending? Please post your questions and thoughts in the comments section! We’ll do our best to address every one of them. If we like what you have to say, you could become part of our movie guide!

Travis is co-founder of Colossus. He writes about the impact of art on his life and the world around us.

Like Eyes Wide Shut (1999)?

Join our movie club to get similar movie recommendations and stories delivered to your inbox every Friday.

• Comments This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

We hate bad email too, so we don’t send it or share your email with anyone.

Reader Interactions

August 18, 2023

I have always thought “Eyes Wide Shut” has a structure similar to that of “A Clockwork Orange”. Both movies have a first part that shows the main character interacting with other characters – then a transformative event – then a second part where the main character meets all the same characters under different circumstances.

In the former, Bill meets Mandy, Ziegler, a female patient who tries to seduce him, a street hooker, Milich and his daughter, and his old friend, the piano player. Then he goes through the trauma of the orgy. After that, he tries to relocate the piano player (but can’t), tries to revisit the street hooker (but finds out that she now has AIDS), revisits Milich and his daughter (but it’s now apparent that Milich is pimping her out) revisits the female patient (who treats him differently because her husband is now present), revisits Ziegler (who reveals himself to be one of the powerful men at the orgy), and possibly revisits Mandy (who may be the dead girl at the morgue).

In the latter, Alex already knows his droogs, who beat up an old bum, fight a rival gang, and rape a writer’s wife. Then goes through the trauma of prison and the experimental mind control treatment. After being released, he encounters the same bum (who now beats him up), a pair of cops (who are one of his old droogs and one of the rival gang members) and the writer (who’s wife died from the rape and is now out for revenge).

Did you ever notice this structural similarity?

August 23, 2023

Great point! The more and more I read and write about Kubrick, the more I see these kinds of similarities across his work. He seems obsessed with demystifying the human experience–breaking us simple humans down to our fragile, mortal core. The structure you’ve noted speaks to that, I believe. Our characters experience something surreal, otherworldly. They feel big and powerful. And then reality comes crashing back.

December 1, 2023

Something I noticed immediately when I watched the movie is that when Bill walks in to a character named Marion’s house, he makes his way to Marion’s room, and before he does, there is a greeter, and he shows the card and asks how things are going and walks inside. Later, Marion’s husband, who I think also might be a doctor or something else, walks in to the house the exact way Bill did. Same walk, same greeting, pretty much the same everything. Which also further proves that Bill isn’t as important as he thinks he is because there are others just like him.

March 31, 2024

This isn’t a response but a question as well. In movies, we all know that the camera always shows us what we need in order to understand everything….even if shot in a way that may not seem important at the time we are watching. I have never gotten a real response to what kind of ritual was being performed when Bill enters the so-called party that required a password. A ritual held on an important holiday (at least in America ), and seemed rather dark and what was the man in the middle of the circle with the censor chanting? What was the circle of nude maidens representative of as they were chosen, then the man performing said ritual stomps his sword once on the floor. It just seems like there is more meaning to it than the answers or lack of explanations I have gotten up to this point.

Write a response Cancel reply

Tom Cruise Questions Everything in Stanley Kubrick's Final Film

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

The Big Picture

• Cruise's role in Eyes Wide Shut challenges his action-hero image, portraying vulnerability and insecurity in a surreal and thought-provoking manner.
• The film delves into male ego, desire, and insecurity, emphasizing the struggle to reconcile reality with unattainable fantasies.
• Cruise's character faces a dark night of the soul, grapples with emotions of shame and guilt, ultimately seeking reconciliation and a quiet domestic life.

On July 16, 1999, Stanley Kubrick 's greatly anticipated final film, Eyes Wide Shut , was released. Kubrick passed away a few months before the movie came out, and it remains one of the auteur's most provocative, controversial, and astonishing contributions to the cinematic art form. The film stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman , at the time married in real life and playing a couple on-screen, as a doctor and his wife who admits she has considered having an affair. The revelation sends Cruise's Dr. Bill Harford into a tailspin through the dead of night in New York City as he wanders around looking for sexual gratification, and seeking a greater sense of control over his own life.

Eyes Wide Shut

A Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.

'Eyes Wide Shut' Was an Interesting Departure From Tom Cruise's Usual Roles

Cruise's 1999 was an interesting point in his career, as he also starred in Paul Thomas Anderson 's Magnolia , which released a few months later. In the years since, he has not appeared in many strictly dramatic roles , opting instead for primarily action oriented films. Two auteurist directors were able to center these challenging, three-hour long, adult dramas around his acting talent, and there are not many other examples of actors who have managed to pull that off in such a short span of time. Although the release year is admittedly somewhat arbitrary, since Eyes Wide Shut was in development for nearly six years and filmed for 400 days –– breaking the record for longest film shoot in history. It is eerie that Kubrick passed away so soon after completing the final edits on the film, considering how lengthy the production was.

Kubrick plays with Cruise's movie star persona in an interesting way, as the Cruise we know as the cocky hotshot in Top Gun or The Color of Money is nowhere to be found, neither is the heroic posture he delivered a few years earlier in Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible , a role which has gone on to define his career as he returned to the franchise for the seventh installment in 2023 . Instead, Cruise is up against the ropes. He is lost, vulnerable, and desperate to heal his broken ego. Kubrick puts Cruise in a world where he is vastly in over his head . Even when Cruise is in over his head, he is typically able to craftily maneuver a fighter jet or a motorcycle to speed his way past any conflict, but in Eyes Wide Shut , there are no easy solutions to the problems he is facing.

Tom Cruise Must Face the Fragility of His Ego in 'Eyes Wide Shut'

Dr. Bill Harford seemingly has it all at the start of Eyes Wide Shut , but if you look closer it is not the case. Yes, he is attending an incredibly lavish Christmas party, he seems to have a happy family unit, and he is a successful doctor. However, he feels out of touch at this party, he is disconnected from his wife, and while he is rich, he is realizing there is a more elite class from which he is entirely shut out. Tragic events involving a young woman overdosing while with the party's host, portrayed by Sydney Pollack who previously directed Tom Cruise in The Firm, and the revelatory post-party conversation with his wife lead Cruise on a dark journey through the streets of New York. Each city block or ornate room is given an otherworldly glow thanks to the over-saturation of Christmas lights filling the frame.

The visual choices combined with the ambiguous and surreal tone place Cruise in very unfamiliar settings where he walks a liminal tightrope between dreaming and reality . The discoveries he makes are challenging, as events unfold in such a way that he ends up at a secretive party where a sexual ritual is performed, after an invitation from his friend played by Todd Field , actor-director who would go on to collaborate with Cate Blanchett in TÁR (Blanchett also happens to have a voice cameo appearance in Eyes Wide Shut). This ritual gone awry leads Cruise to some dangerous situations as the individuals involved go to great lengths to stop him from speaking about or acknowledging what had taken place in any shape or form, especially after he seems to uncover that a woman may have been murdered as a part of the ritual.

Whether the disturbing events that play out in the film are meant to be taken at face value, they prove two things to Cruise's character. Either he must accept that his fantasies are so outlandish and embrace his reality where life is a lot more... normal, or these things he aspires to be a part of are far outside what he is capable of handling . This is not only with regard to the sexual encounters he approaches, but also his idyllic perspective on what his marriage should be, or his desire to attain vast wealth and enter into an even higher status than that of a successful doctor. His ego was bruised by his wife's revelation early in the film, but the experiences he seeks out to repair it end up mangling it even further.

'Eyes Wide Shut' Subverts Expectations of a Leading Man

Considering his breakdown toward the end of the film when he realizes his wife knows about the events of the previous days, it is clear Cruise understands he is out of his depth and feels a wide range of emotions including shame, guilt, inadequacy, and fear regarding his future. Cruise's role grapples with one of the greatest fears the male ego can confront, the notion that not even his masculine bravado can control or uncover the thoughts the women in his life choose to keep from him. The insecurity seeps through his performance as it becomes clear how even in marriage there are still things people will keep from each other, and he has no power to challenge that. This is a rare form to see Cruise in , and he handles these outbursts just as well as he handles traversing rooftops at impossible speeds or clinging to the side of airplanes.

Ultimately, Cruise is put through this dark night of the soul and comes out of it in a place where he and his wife can maybe set aside the collision of ego, desire, and insecurity, and enjoy a quiet domestic life together. It is kind of a happy ending... but it's a distorted one , but Cruise allows the opportunity to relinquish all of his troubled experiences over the last few days by accepting the life he has and attempting to reconcile with Kidman in the final moments of the film.

Tom Cruise Inspired Christian Bale's Performance in 'American Psycho'

"Impressive, very nice."

Kubrick disarms our understanding of what a typical leading man should be through his treatment of Bill Harford's character. Cruise is uncomfortable , weird, and stripped down –– both literally and metaphorically –– in Eyes Wide Shut . This type of role is a challenging one for any actor to play, but especially difficult in the hands of someone with such massive celebrity status that audiences have certain expectations attached to his involvement in a film. Maybe in 1999, it did not seem quite as bizarre (although most definitely still bizarre considering the subject matter dealt with), but in retrospect Eyes Wide Shut is something quite rare for such a towering movie star to tackle with the confidence and image-conscious attitude Cruise brings to the part.

Although the film remains one of his most challenging and controversial, it is also one of the best outings Cruise has given as an on-screen performer. Some actors may have an easier time riding a motorcycle off a cliff for a film than getting into the right head space to portray such a vulnerable person. As the Mission: Impossible series continues, and Cruise shows no signs of slowing down his life as an action-junkie, we can hope he might return one day to a film as surreal, complicated, and thoughtful as Eyes Wide Shut.

Eyes Wide Shut is available to rent or buy on Apple TV+

WATCH ON APPLE TV+

• Movie Features
• Stanley Kubrick