Compare this film to the original novella, by Arthur Schnitzler.
: Research available on ResearchGate analyzes the film's use of masks as a "staging of fundamental fantasy" (jouissance). It argues that the film's repetitive scenarios of observation and power reflect deeper sadistic and masochistic modes of human desire. film eyes wide shut better
Critics initially found Tom Cruise's performance stiff, but time has vindicated his casting. Eyes Wide Shut is better because of, not despite, its casting. Compare this film to the original novella, by
Eyes Wide Shut is better than you remember because it refuses to be a genre film. It is not a thriller, a drama, or an erotic picture. It is a tone poem about the gap between who we pretend to be and who we actually are. And in that gap, Kubrick found not cynicism, but something rarer: forgiveness. Critics initially found Tom Cruise's performance stiff, but