There is no doubt - I dislike this film. I dislike it for reasons I can easily articulate and probably for even more reasons that I am not even aware of. However like any love-hate relationship, it leaves an indelible impact that has you revisiting and dissecting it for many years to come. The film is unsettling, but many attribute this to the unusual performances by Kidman and Cruise in a dark nonlinear narrative that explores some harrowing sexual themes. For me however, it was simply the look of the film that stunned me into submission. Kubrick's use of light is unlike anything I had encountered in a film and proves to me that his ability as a cinematographer is equal (or I'd hazard to say superior to) his ability as a director. Most films are lit under bright studio lights, giving them the shiny hyperreal quality that we have come to enjoy. Kubrick eschews this tendency, such that the light seems to emanate solely from external sources such as lamps and chandeliers. Apart from being an extremely difficult and costly technique it gives the film its darkly glowing quality, and renders one of the most significant works of filmic art I have encountered.
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