Eyes Wide Shut, 1999; edited version rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some drug-related material. This was Stanley Kubrick’s final movie based on Arthur Schnitzler’s 1926 novella, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as an upper middle class couple who have a breakdown in their marriage. They each seek alternative sexual diversions. It presented a new twist to modern day sexuality and thinking and presents a disturbing interpretation of what happens when people try to hard to explain certain things that are beyond explanation.

Each of these movies reveals a sides of human nature that are unsettling. The filmmaker gives us an opportunity to experience their reality as a voyeur, to expand our understanding of the challenges faced by these characters who may seem very different from us. We discover a sympathy for them, recognize ourselves or people we know in the screen characters and hopefully as a result understand each other a little better.

Moira Romano