Since 2018, I have been writing a yearly article about Eyes Wide Shut around Christmas because it is my favorite Christmas movie. Part of the reason why I love this movie so much is because I come away with something different each time I watch it, and I even change my mind from viewing to viewing when it comes to what is real and what is either a dream or staged during Bill Harford’s wacky night. This year, Bill’s treatment of names stuck out the most.
Before I get into it, I want to clarify that this is not about the meaning of names in the film. This is about the names Bill remembers and the one name he forgets. The only thing I’ll point out about actual names is that Bill's last name is Harford, not Hartford (as I see it erroneously spelled in so many articles), and this slightly odd name is a result of Kubrick wanting a Harrison Ford type, which becomes Harford. But enough about that IMDb trivia-type shit.
Bill Harford is a man who is extremely concerned about appearances. He is doing well as a doctor, but he aspires to be at the top of society, which is why he has ingratiated himself with patients like Victor Ziegler. But even more than this, he wants to be seen as a man. This is why he turns into a frat bro with Nick Nightingale (just watch how many times these two playfully pat each other during their short conversation at the party), and it’s why Bill feels the need to revenge cheat on Alice after her revelation about the naval officer. I don’t think that Bill is actually all that bothered about her wanting another man; he’s just concerned with what it says about him as a man that she would want anyone other than him. This is accentuated by the college dudes who seem to materialize from Bill’s subconscious to accost him in the street and question his sexuality. The struggle within Bill is that this is something out of his control, which is what makes the night increasingly foolhardy. This is why things that Bill can control are so important, and one of those things is the ability to remember names.
Bill remembers literally every character’s name in this film except Roz, Helena’s babysitter for the night of Ziegler’s party. It happens so early in the film that it doesn’t appear to be that big of a deal at first. As the film goes on, though, it becomes a glaring omission.
At the party, Bill is able to spot a college classmate who dropped out, and he remembers his full name. Later, he meets a couple models, and when one of them, Nuala, introduces herself Bill even asks how she spells her name. The first time I saw this I thought it was just a lame way of flirting, but now I think he sincerely wanted to remember her name.
Those first two examples aren’t all that exceptional, but it quickly becomes apparent that names are important when Bill shows up for work the next day. He addresses the secretary, Lisa, by name, then tells her to ask Janelle to bring his coffee, and he greets Sarah by name as he walks into his office. Yes, he should know the names of co-workers, but why would Kubrick make a point to introduce three character names in less than thirty seconds other than to make a point about Bill’s obsession with names?
This could all be dismissed until we meet Rosa, the maid at the Nathansons. Bill greets her by name when he shows up after Nathanson has died. To be clear, he should remember her name. The point of all this isn’t that he should not be remembering all these names; it’s that it’s fucked up that the only name he needs help remembering in the entire film is the woman taking care of his daughter. No offense to Rosa, but Roz is a more important person in Bill’s life.
But remembering Roz’s name doesn’t do anything for Bill’s appearance. She is someone who is paid to stay in his apartment and watch his daughter. It wouldn’t impress anyone if he remembered her name. Now, if someone happened to notice that Bill remembered Rosa’s name, then perhaps they would think this is a man who cares, or at least appears to.
This also brings up what type of parent Bill is. Alice is a stay-at-home mom, so she handles most of the parenting. Bill seems to be attentive when he’s home, but he doesn’t interact with Helena all that much, and she becomes an afterthought. She even walks out of frame at the end of the movie, and both Bill and Alice fail to notice that she’s not in sight anymore. There are conspiracy theories about this scene regarding two men seen near Helena, but I’m not wading into that territory. I tend to go with the simpler explanation that Helena disappears at the end because she is not on either parent’s mind at the moment.
But I would argue that Helena is almost never on Bill’s mind, while Alice brings her up and interacts with her much more than Bill. The parent in me just wants to focus on the absent parent aspect of Bill’s character, but I don’t think that’s the point to take away from this. Bill, in his quest to appear as a member of the upper crust who should be able to go to orgies and shit, thinks that childcare is something that is handled by wives and nameless babysitters. It’s all about appearances, and kids don’t factor into the appearance that Bill aspires to project. Too bad he doesn’t realize it’s not working. But hey, at least Rosa feels seen when Dr. Bill shows up.
Is Any of It Real?
I typically believe that the night actually happens because it’s too messy to argue that any or all of it is a dream. It’s meant to be dream-like, but I don’t think Kubrick is trying to say this is all just subconscious fantasy. As for where I stand on Ziegler’s claim that all the orgy stuff was staged, I tend to believe him. This time, I believe him because of the interaction with the desk clerk at Nick’s hotel. Why go to the trouble of taking Nick back to his hotel and telling the clerk someone would be by for any future correspondence? If they’re going to kill Nick, then they would’ve just killed him, and one of the goons could’ve taken care of the hotel room. They certainly wouldn’t bring Nick to the hotel and create a scene if they were going to kill him. But Alan Cumming makes a strange face when Bill leaves, like he just finished a performance and is relieved. Sure, this is probably because Kubrick had him do this scene ninety times, but still the camera lingers on him. I don’t fucking know. That’s why I love this movie. Any time I think I know what is real or isn’t, I find evidence to change my mind.
Random Thoughts
Alice knows Bill will likely forget Roz's name even after she just reminded Bill, which is why she makes a point to address her by name before they leave. This is clearly something she has to deal with all the time.
He remembered Peter Grenning's name even though Grenning moved away over a year ago and was clearly no longer his patient. And he remembered that the dude owned a fucking costume shop? His brain fascinates me.
I'm surprised Bill didn't ask the masked goons what their names were on the way into the orgy.
The Sonata Cafe has a doorman and a host? Neither appear to be necessary. But we are talking about a club that would book a pianist from across the country for a two week gig. That place must've closed down soon after, especially since that prick piano player didn't show up the next night.
Ziegler saw him talking to Nick…but then ran off to the bathroom to bang Mandy?
I've gone into some color theory stuff in the past, but I still mainly like the Christmas setting as an excuse to make everything beautifully lit.
