An underrated masterpiece There is so much going on in this movie its not even funny, I know Im going to need to rewatch this a few more times to pick up on this I missed during my first ever watch earlier today. It may start off as slow in the first twenty to thirty minutes but the story immediately kicks into high gear soon afterwards leaving you hooked in and will never let you go, not even after it's end credits
There's definitely a lot of sexualized themes going on involving adulatory with Nicole Kidman's character fantasizing about cheating on her husband that being Tom Cruise's character with other men, cuckholding and some levels of Pedophilia especially in one scene where a costume store's owner literally pimps his under age daughter out to prominent men in society for I can only guess special favors
Im getting the whole devil tempting you with sin vibes going on in this movie, the devil being the one in the red cape and masked of that secretive societal group of masked elites engaging in all sorts of debauchery just as Hollywood and the real elites themselves probably do. This group and this party with the masks is reflection of the rothschild family and their bizarre parties with strange masks you can look for yourself online. It's all about lust and doing other awful things you can get away with, while getting away with them and disposing of those who dare to try and expose them
No doubt at least to me Stanley Kubrick is trying to expose these elites and illuminati group or trying to shed light and raise awareness in a time where there was so much secrecy of the evil deeds that went on in Hollywood or as the recent Epstein scandal with sexual trafficking. Could totally be wrong but with this group in particular I dont think so, there was special attention and the effect they have on society as whole suggests that Kubrick was trying to bring them into the light with this film
Tom Cruise in my opinion personally carries the film from start to finish with his character ' Bill', as although he is married to Alice who is Nicole Kidman's character, Bill goes through a psychological journey through a span of two nights throughout the film to discover who he really is. When he is told by his wife she had dreams of cheating on him, Bill goes out into the night for revenge with two chances of cheating on her but he doesnt and comes across this mysterious group who engage in orgy activities as well as who knows what else but is watched and threatened while those around him that are also in the group get killed in the process, he starts to realize that he doesnt want to cheat and wants to be a much better person than those masked people are for himself and his wife
I dont mean to get a bit religious here and perhaps on my second viewing I wont feel the same way anymore but with my first viewing, it definitely feels like the Devil and his demonic followers are constantly tempting us to turn away from God, saying its ok to sin and you will not be punished. Despite these opportunities Bill had to get revenge on his wife, he cannot bring himself to do that and give into sin, he instead is rewarded by not ending up dead or catching HIV from a hooker
Thats all I can say for now and Im sure as I rewatch the movie again I will pick up more things and further add to my understanding or perhaps change my perceptive. It's certainly like other Kubrick movies, You'd need to watch more than once. There is so much going on this film that its easy to miss. Overall though it is a very good film, very engaging, thought provoking, intense and amazing
I would be remiss if I didnt bring up the fact there is a 24 minute lost footage from this film and while people believe it doesnt exist, it clearly does. Towards the end when Bill discovers the truth as well as trying not to be manipulated by whom he thought was a friend who is also part of this secret group, there are hints Bill saw more than what the final cut of the movie showed which was just people having sex. Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise both know about this lost footage, they know what it is but they arent telling. Very interesting.