Eyes Wide Shut

'Eyes Wide Shut' (1999)

Whatever the final verdict on Stanley Kubrick's last film, it will have to take into account Nicole Kidman's extraordinary performance, comprised primarily of the extended sexual memory she shares with her husband (Tom Cruise), shattering his faith, and, ... morelater, the "terrible dream" she recounts after his return from a near-death experience at the masked orgy. In the first instance, the couple's been nuzzling while smoking hashish, and Nicole takes exception to Tom's smug trust in her fidelity. Facing the camera, clad in a flimsy teddy and panties, her long, beautiful legs on view, she recalls her passionate reaction to a naval officer she once glimpsed for a moment: "If he wanted me, if it was only one night, I was ready to give up everything, my whole f***in' future." Her delivery is mesmerizing, deeply erotic, evoking memories of Bibi Andersson's landmark account of anonymous sex on a sunny beach in Bergman's "Persona." Kidman's nightmare is all about nakedness, coupling with the naval officer, then with many men -- and "I knew you could see me." Kubrick's creative perversity might have led him to test Cruise's famous self-confidence in the crucible of Kidman's potent sexual provocation, the ease with which she claims and holds the camera's attention.

(Image: Warner Bros./Getty Images)