Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut“ as adaption of Arthur Schnitzler’s “Traumnovelle“

“Eyes Wide Shut” from 1999 is the last film of Stanley Kubrick, who died six days after the first presentation. Already in the 1960s he had plans to make a film out of the Traumnovelle by Arthur Schnitzler, but he was not sure about its ambition: should it be a comedy or set in a historical background. 30 years later, he started the work in 1994 and adapted the story with a setting in the modern New York. As cast he chose Nicole Kidman as Alice (Albertine) and Tom Cruise as William (Fridolin), who were married in this time and so he hoped to reduce frictions during the filming as a married couple can play a fictionally married couple more confident. As you can see with the names, they are adjusted to a setting in a modern, English speaking country. Only exception is the figure of Nightingale, which is a literally translation of the original pattern “Nachtigall”. An interesting fact is also that scenes with Nightingale a nearly the same as in the novel. But of course, it is not possible to adapt a novel from the 1920s into a modern setting without changing some content. Kubrick also added some additional scenes, for example the ball in the beginning and the embellishment of the orgy with religious symbols and appearing. Besides, the mystery of the death of one prostitute at this orgy is solved by the fiction of Victor (Sydney Pollack), who does not appear in the novel but has a supporting role in the film.

I like this film very much although I share some critics with the reviewers, who rated the film quite different. In the novel, the conflict arises from Albertine’s frustration out of her role as wife. The society then forbid women to have relations before or whilst their marriage. A woman had to be virgin before her young wedding and afterwards obedient. Compared to males they had no option to live in a personal freedom. Also, the precept of marriage made a divorce factually impossible, and divorced women were more outlawed than men. One evidence for this is the appearing of prostitution for many hundred years and the possibility for men to gather sexual experience out of a marriage.

In film however, Alice is an emancipated wife who even worked as a manager before. Also, society changed, especially in western countries, giving the same rights to both genders. As a divorce is also no longer stigmatized, the whole conflict seems to be artificial. As you can observe during the ball, both Alice and William flirt with others. The discussion afterwards and the jealousy of William only because Alice dreamed about having an affair with a navy officer does not fit into the current time. But there are frictions in the relationship as William starts searching an affair afterwards as well, which is an overreaction. I guess that, if there is such a dissatisfaction nowadays, it would be way more normal to seek for a solution or getting divorced, which makes the whole story impossible in the present age. Therefore, I would have preferred a historical setting, too.