You've already spent countless holiday seasons arguing about whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie. But there's a new film on trial this year, and at first glance, it seems like anything but a Yuletide staple. Nevertheless, a substantial number of people are coming forward to assert that Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick's controversial final film about a man infiltrating a sinister underground sex cult, is actually a Christmas movie.
That brief synopsis alone is enough to tell you that the film is a far cry from Tiny Tim saying, "God Bless us, everyone!" But those who support the movement for rebranding Eyes Wide Shut as a Christmas movie feel strongly about their convictions.
Rolling Stone film critic David Ehrlich calls it a "bizarro holiday classic." And Britt Hayes of Slashfilm says, "Eyes Wide Shut is the best Christmas movie of our lifetime."
It's a preposterous claim, to be sure... or is it?
We'll examine the arguments for and against Eyes Wide Shut as a Christmas movie so you can decide for yourself.
This article contains major spoilers for Eyes Wide Shut.
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Not a Family-Friendly Affair
First off, let's get one thing out of the way. The R-rated film (which was edited several times from its original NC-17 rating) isn't the sort of holiday classic you throw on with the whole family gathered in the living room after a day of opening presents and eating ham. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama is one of the worst possible movies you could watch with such a crowd.
The 2-hour and 45-minute runtime consists largely of masked orgies, bizarre sex rituals, and other depravities. It's not the feel-good flick you'd want the kiddos to see. Nor is it something you'd feel comfortable watching with granny sitting next to you on the couch. If family-friendliness is among your criteria for a Christmas movie, then Eyes Wide Shut isn't so much in the running as it is dead at the starting line.
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What is 'Eyes Wide Shut' About?
Eyes Wide Shut was directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, who died only six days after he saw the final cut. He reportedly said the film was his single greatest contribution to the art of cinema, though it received lower scores from critics than the rest of his revered catalog.
Eyes Wide Shut takes place during Christmastime in New York City and follows Dr. Bill Harford, played by Tom Cruise, and his wife Alice, played by Nicole Kidman, as they navigate a series of sexual and psychological encounters over the course of a few days. The story begins when Alice confesses to having sexual fantasies about another man, which prompts Bill to embark on a night-long odyssey of sexual exploration and self-discovery.
As the night unfolds, Bill finds himself immersed in a world of sexual secrets and desires, attending an extravagant and mysterious masked party, encountering a prostitute named Domino, and becoming entangled in a dangerous and secretive sexual cult. His journey exposes him to the dark underbelly of desire and power, ultimately leading him to confront his own insecurities and fears.
Amidst all this, there's a whole lotta Christmas. The film opens with an extravagant, high-class Christmas party and closes at a massive toy store full of gleeful children. In between these Christmas-y bookends, Bill wanders the decorated streets of New York City, stopping by a medical office, an apartment, and a diner — every hall is fully decked. The only place that isn't drenched in Christmas lights is the sex mansion (more on why that's significant in a moment). There's so much Christmas decor, in fact, that someone made a YouTube supercut of every Christmas tree that appears in Eyes Wide Shut.
The lights dance wonderfully beneath the hazy, dreamlike cinematography of the film. But does Christmas serve as more than a pretty backdrop to showcase Kubrick's eye for style? After all, the main reason people disqualify Die Hard from the Christmas movie category is because the film treats the holiday as just that: a backdrop. A Christmas movie, at its core, must rely upon Christmas to drive the narrative. Plenty of critics argue Eyes Wide Shut fulfills this requirement and needs Christmas to effectively convey its message. But what is Eyes Wide Shut trying to tell us?
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The Case for 'Eyes Wide Shut' as a Christmas Movie
Eyes Wide Shut's message doesn't become clear until the very end of the film. Bill confesses to his wife what happened over the past few days. The two go Christmas shopping with their daughter, and Alice suggests the couple do something "as soon as possible" to fix their marriage before it's broken beyond repair. Surrounded by toys and tinsel, Bill asks what she has in mind, to which she replies with one word, "F*ck." Roll the end credits.
It may be more vulgar than The Santa Clause or Scrooged, but beneath the mask of debauchery, Eyes Wide Shut bears the same central story: a man overcoming his selfishness and ego to keep his loved ones together. Bill dipped his toe into the underground world of sex and excess, saw how evil and screwed up that world truly was, and retreated to the loving arms of his family, more appreciative and less egotistical than before.
This message is underscored by the Christmas elements. A Christmas tree is visible in almost every shot save for one place: the orgy mansion. Christmas has always symbolized love and family and togetherness and that's no different here. The mansion and its glaring absence of Douglas fir is the antithesis of these cherished values. Bill had to crawl his way out of the seedy underground to see the light(s).
But could the film exist without the Christmas bits? Sure, it would have been possible to convey these themes without the Christmas setting. (In fact, the novel upon which the film is based takes place during Mardi Gras). But Bill's character arc — his redemption found in the shedding of his ego and a return to his family — wouldn't have been nearly as potent without them. Compare that to Die Hard, which, if picked up and dropped into a different time of year, would essentially be the same movie with a different coat of paint. Christmas in Die Hard has no impact on the heart of the story in regard to either plot or theme.
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Final Thoughts
So, is Eyes Wide Shut a Christmas movie? The Christmas-y symbolism and its direct tie to the protagonist's redemptive journey create something that indeed resembles one. There's a strong case to be made that Bill's rejection of the creepy sex cult is him discovering — dare we say it? — the true meaning of Christmas. God bless us, everyone!
Eyes Wide Shut is currently streaming on Paramount+.
