Wilde

Plot synopsis:
The film opens with Oscar Wilde's 1882 visit to Leadville, Colorado during his lecture tour of the United States. Despite his flamboyant personality and urbane wit, he proves to be a success with the local silver miners as he regales them with tales of Renaissance silversmith Benvenuto Cellini.
Wilde returns to London and weds Constance Lloyd (Jennifer Ehle), and they have two sons in quick succession. While their second child is still an infant, the couple hosts a young Canadian named Robbie Ross (Michael Sheen), who seduces Wilde and helps him come to terms with his homosexuality. On the opening night of his play Lady Windermere's Fan, Wilde is re-introduced to the dashingly handsome and openly foppish poet Lord Alfred Douglas (Jude Law), whom he had met briefly the year before, and the two fall into a passionate and tempestuous relationship. Hedonistic Douglas is not content to remain monogamous and frequently engages in sexual activity with rent boys while his older lover plays the role of voyeur.
Douglas' father, the Marquess of Queensberry (Tom Wilkinson), objects to his son's relationship with Wilde and demeans the playwright shortly after the opening of The Importance of Being Earnest. When Wilde sues the Marquess for criminal libel against him, his homosexuality is publicly exposed; he is eventually tried for gross indecency and sentenced to two years' hard labour. In prison, he is visited by his wife, who tells him she is not divorcing him but is taking their sons to Germany and that he is welcome to visit as long as he never sees Douglas again. Wilde is released from prison and goes straight into exile to continental Europe. In spite of the advice or objections of others, he eventually meets with Douglas.
Throughout the film, portions of the well-loved Wilde story The Selfish Giant are woven in, first by Wilde telling the story to his children, then as narrator, finishing the story as the film ends.

Tags: queer

Review:
This film was one of the best to appear in the late 90s, and is a sensitive, involving, honest and moving biography of one of the greatest writers of the Victorian era, the infamous Oscar Wilde.More realistic and better played than previous studies of the writer (Robert Morley and Peter Finch both played Wilde in the 1950s), this film benefits greatly from a cracking performance by Stephen Fry in the lead.
This Wilde is torn between what is accepted love (his wife, and children), and the 'love that dare not speak its name' (primarily his destructive relationship with the needy, selfish and petulant Lord Alfred Douglas, played here by Jude Law in the role which brought him to world attention).
We see his charm and conviction when creating his plays or amusing friends, we also see his weaker side and why he was the cause of his own eventual arrest and imprisonment, we see how prison changed him and - as he wrote himself in De Profundis - broke his spirit and his health.Watch out for other, now big, names in the cast - Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Sheen, Orlando Bloom - alongside the established players such as Vanessa Redgrave (Oscar's mother, Sperenza), Jennifer Ehle (Lady Constance Wilde), Tom Wilkinson (Marquess of Queensbury, Bosie's father), Gemma Jones (Bosie's mother), and Judy Parfitt.A fitting musical score, a smattering of Wilde's epigrams, and a large chunk of his children's story 'The Selfish Giant' (driving and commenting on the action at key points) leave this film close to perfection when detailing the story of the misunderstanding of another age, not too far back from our own..
However distracting these heavenly creatures are though, they do become quite rightly overshadowed by Stephen Fry in a role that could not be more perfect for him if it were based on fiction rather than fact.I have been a fan of Oscar Wilde for some time, and this film gave amazingly accurate insight into the life of a great Irish literary.
Earnest production with a great performance by Stephen Fry. This film biography of Oscar Wilde is a showcase for Stephen Fry. He not only looks like Wilde, he breaths life into the many passages from Wilde's writings that are woven into the screenplay.
And how many people know that Wilde wrote children's stories?There are many examples given of Wilde's biting wit, such as, "Give a man a mask and he will tell you the truth," "The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast," and "I find that alcohol, taken in sufficient quantities, can bring about all the effects of drunkenness." Fry delivers these with perfect tone.Of course a good part of the movie is devoted to Wilde's arrest and ultimate imprisonment for "indecent acts" with Lord Alfred Douglas (Jude Law).
It deals matter-of-factly with the "issue" of homosexuality, it doesn't condemn or condone what happened in Wilde's private life, the viewer just gets a look at the man underneath the legend.Stephen Fry does a great job as the title role, making Wilde a sympathetic character with whom the audience empathises.
I will long remember the confrontation between the two men, with Wilde giving as good as he gets against the Marquess' pathological hatred.Jude Law gives an expert performance as Bosie (or Lord Alfred Douglas), with his deeply contrasting nature shown to full effect, sometimes being tender and loving, at other times changing into a screaming "madman".Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and can heartily recommend it to anyone who likes good films..
Finch and Frazer have the sexual chemistry of two slices of white bread but here, in this 1997 Wilde with Stephen Fry in the title role the mystery is revealed, Jude Law makes the whole thing totally believable.
Director Brian Gilbert doesn't bandy about giving us the childhood torments of a literary genius; instead, he and screenwriter Julian Mitchell delve right into the more prominent chapters of Wilde's life, his marriage to a woman--producing two children--before realizing his homosexual desires, leading to some promiscuous indiscretions before finding love with churlish, childish poet Lord Alfred Douglas.
Jude Law is equally good as ornery, demanding lover 'Bosie', whose tyrannical father brought about a court-case and two-year jail term for Wilde (covered previously in 1960's "The Man with the Green Carnation"), contributing to his early demise.
Married with children, Wilde entered a passionate love affair with Lord 'Bosie' Douglas(Jude Law)the son of the Marquess of Queensberry(Tom Wilkinson).
Certainly, the half-dozen or so "witnesses" in his trial are identified as criminals, not as "renters", and there is no nudity or profanity in what would then have already been a controversial film.While the former may have presented a more sympathetic edge, being authorised by Wilde's son, the latter presents an Oscar and Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas that are not only homosexuals, but also, Bosie especially, promiscuous ones.
As far as films were concerned homosexuality was the love that really dare not even breathe let alone speak its name.One reason I liked this film Wilde that starred Stephen Fry in the title role is that the others began with Wilde's involvement with Lord Alfred Douglas, played here by a sexy Jude Law. Here we get a bit of background and we discover that Wilde was a latent case for years because society dictated gay was an abomination.
Among other things Law introduces Fry to is the availability of rent boys on the street and at certain posh establishments frequented by closeted Victorians.But it all comes to an end when Bosy's dad played by Tom Wilkinson leaves a calling card accusing Wilde of being a sodomite.
This is about the famous writer Oscar Wilde, and his forbidden love in the intolerant society.I watched this film two times already, and I really like it.
When he meets the corrupt Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas (Jude Law), he falls in love for the young man; but Bosie's father goes to the court accusing the writer "posing sodomite" and Wilde is sentenced to two years of hard labor.
Rarely in Stephen Fry's prolific career, such a tailor-made role for him, and he is the leading actor in this biopic of Oscar Wilde, the 19th century Irish author, poet and playwright, whom he resembles not just in physical appearance, but personality and gift as well.Directed by Brian Gilbert, the follow-up after TOM & VIV (1994), WILDE is a lush period drama, where Fry's representation of Wilde is purely magnificent, sympathetic and pleasing with a tender soul inside his bulky facade, from his principled marriage with Constance (Ehle), the homosexual foray with Robbie Ross (Sheen), to meet the love of his life Bosie Douglas (Law), a doted aristocrat whose stunning pulchritude and youthfulness toxic-ally enchants Wilde for the rest of his life, till his downfall in imprison after losing the libel case and the subsequent trial of sodomy and gross indecency prosecuted by Marquess of Queensberry (Wilkinson), the abominable father of Bosie.
Like the warm voice-over of Wilde's own short story THE SELFISH GIANT whenever the story draws in with Oscar's interactions with his two young sons, Wilde is the giant, who is destined to suffer from the wounds of love, again, Fry's performance is unarguably the film's strongest suit, notably his speech about "the unspeakable love" during the court scenes.Oscar Wilde's astonishing talent and homosexuality are two sides of his personae, as one might expect, the film follows suit in exploring the more sensational latter, while the former can only be glanced through his witty loquaciousness and the aforementioned court speech, truly, the gay melodrama is what audience ask for, only if we could also given some leeway to enter his kingdom as a writer.
Fry gives a sympathetic performance, but for Wilde, we can only assume that he has only himself to blame, meanwhile, the film makes Robbie, his sole loyal friend in his last days, watch the doom befalls on the one he loves, they would make a much better match, only if Wilde could be more sensible in his mind (takes the gargoyle- looking over the pretty boy), that's the typical gambit for a melodrama, as if that happens so common in real life.Jennifer Ehle, who REALLY should play Meryl Streep in a biopic, is the benevolent but tormented wife who marries a closeted gay man, but instead of hatred and complaint, her support of Wilde, defiance against the convention, even in his lowest moment is a shining beacon in this biopic, Ehle elicits amazing nuance in it.
That wonderful moment when Wilde is in prison and visiting hours end when Bosie grips the iron grating that separates them and clutches Oscar's hands just as all the other wives are doing with their husbands gets me sobbing every time.The film is beautifully made and perfectly cast.
As is the fact that Wilde was syphilitic because of his adventures - not very pleasant for his wife.And this was, I'm sure, the true reason for the cessation of their marital sex life.If the film had been historically accurate, Fry would have been shown with black teeth in later life - this was a side effect of the mercury treatment at the time for syphilis.Not very charming.The movie also ignores the main reason for Wilde's obsession with Bosie.
Stephen Fry is towering in the lead role of this Oscar Wilde biopic, and Jude Law offers some interesting support; otherwise it is a rather dull film though, and from what I have read, not all that accurate.
Brian Gilbert's film Wilde is a handsomely mounted and sumptuous depiction of Oscar Wilde's fall from grace when he lost a criminal libel trial that accused him of sodomy.Stephen Fry has a good stab at playing the pompous, erudite wit, craving approval of high society but he does appear to be a bit flat.
(Some Spoilers) Even though the Irish born Oscar Wilde, Stephen Fry, was one of the most celebrated men of letters, in his poetry short stories as well as a playwright, during the British Victorian Age it was the extremely prudish and restrictive ideas of that era in European History that in the end destroyed him.In the film "Wilde" we see a vibrant and full of life Oscar Wilde" brought down not really by his own in your face sexual conduct, in his homosexuality, but by those young men that he was sexually involved with.
The casting is excellent, needless to say about Stephen Fry. Jude Law is gorgeous in the film, he is so beautiful that all people will love him.
Against the advice of friends he chose to live his life as he saw it unfolding when it would have been so much simpler to run away.A brilliant screenplay that interwove one of Wilde's children's stories throughout the narrative and liberal use of Wilde's poetry and quotations from his life are a major part of what makes this film so good.The superb casting of Stephen Fry  who bears a striking resemblance to the real Oscar Wilde  was a stroke of genius.All of the supporting characters are equal to the strong performance by Mr. Fry:  Jude Law as Lord Alfred Douglas, Vanessa Redgrave as Speranza; Wilde's mother, Jennifer Ehle as his long-suffering but always supportive wife, Michael Sheen as the ever-faithful Robbie Ross and especially Zoe Wanamaker as Ada all deserve a standing ovation for their incredible acting skills and the characters they brought to life.Never have I seen a bio-pic that captures the pathos, and also the wit charm and elegance of a person and a period as well as `Wilde.'It was brilliantly directed by Brian Gilbert and from the opening scenes in the unlikely location of a silver mine in Leadville, Colorado to the closing scene when Oscar and Bosie are reunited after Wilde's incarceration in Reading Gaol for `unnatural acts' there is not a false or unbelievable moment.This is a true work of collective genius  but the real laurel wreath of excellence lies with Stephen Fry.
As someone who is a great admirerer of Oscar Wilde I was thrilled to discover there had been a movie made about him and even more so when I heard who was in it.I had great expectations and was incredibly disapointed and even a bit angry because I know lots of people don't bother checking if a biographical picture is indeed based on true facts;this one isn't.I've read a lot about Oscar and his life and the first fault I found in the movie is that it wasn't really based on him;we don't see his life,we just see a part(not always true to facts)-the movie is based mostly on his affair with Lord Alfred Douglas which is why the title of the film should not have been called "Wilde".I could have viewed it as a movie about a relationship but I refuse to do so simply because of the way it was presented and marketed.Even if viewed as such it fails to rise to the task;if they wanted to show that relationship they should have done it completlly and they didn't do that either.In the movie,it seemed bad but in life it was worse than that-the happy end in the film suggests that all was well and that Oscar died in Bosie's hands but the truth is far from it-Bosie left Oscar banckrupt and he died alonne,later Bosie married claiming he was seduced by Oscar and died a bitter old man.Not quite the fantasy relationship is it?And,while some other things that happen in the movie aren't true the piece that could have been an enormous help in portraying the relationship,or rather the bases for creating a movie based on it;De Profundis wasn't used.That letter is merely mentioned like it meant nothing to Oscar,like it was a matter of small talk while anyone who'd have read it would know differently.Wilde's work is not important in the movie,we only hear a few of his own sentences  and that's one of the very important reasons why this film fails in showing us Oscar Wilde himself-the script writers don't strive for showing the viewers his genius-we don't get to see the brilliance of his mind or it's broadness.Yes,I realise it's hard to make a movie about a writer and show his extraordinary talent but it can be donne and here it just wasn't.The only thing that I admired about the movie is the acting;Stephen Fry does an excellent job(considering the matterial he was given-I belive that if that was better he would have also been better)and Jude Law is amasing-I'm not talking about his looks but his portrayal of Bosie which is fantastic.But,even though that is the redeeming feature of the film because of the bad matterial it isn't enough to save the picture.I guess we'll just have to wait until someone makes a movie good enough that it can be presented as "the movie of Oscar Wilde" because such a man deserves it..
I can resist anything but temptation!In this case my Sun newspaper like review title.I have read all the customer reviews below and all of Oscar Wilde's complete works.I have seen most of his plays ("The Importance of being Ernest (1895)" many times over) and seen many other portrayals of the great Irishman.Yes Fry does look uncannily like Wilde and as he stated,it was the role he was born to play.What a pity then he was let down by the producer/scriptwriters!How I agree with my esteemed colleagues below who bemoan the trap the producers have fallen into of plugging the homosexual thing (presumably to sensationalise the purient aspects of his life to "put bums on seats" by the non cognoscenti) but not showing on screen Wilde's flowing bon mots/aphorisms/epigrams/literature and sparkling conversation etc.We all have our favourites.Whereas we were treated to Fry vocalising excerpts from his "The Gentle Giant" read to his children, I was left frustrated by the lack of interest shown by the producers in Wilde's literature.Where were the scenes set in his publishers office as they discuss his latest work?.Where were the sophisticated dinner party converstions with other intellectuals?Where were the scenes showing him develop from his youth in Dublin and at Trinity College university there to produce the character he became?.Little was made of the relationship with his mother although this film did show his love for his children.We had to endure an obsession with the "Bosie" a.k.a.Lord Alfred Douglas thing but this was only part of his life!His failed scandal law case brought against The Marquis of Queensbury (father of "Bosie") and subsequent incarceration in Reading gaol,always hogs the attention of film producers for rather obvious reasons.But why no scenes of him thinking out his "De Profundis" while he composed it in his cell?I know some people may think I am being unfashionable since homosexual matters had to be suggested in older versions rather than the modern "in yer face" style of modern adaptions.I had hoped for better..
The cast from his mother, with too infrequent appearances by Vanessa Redgrave, his beautiful wife, Constance (Jennifer Ehle) and his boys, all evoked the Wilde I imagined.Alfred Douglas (Jude Law) was just a little too pretty perhaps, and Robbie Ross (Michael Sheen) glowed in his warm friendship until the end, and certainly from the beginning.We've had other terrific films about English laws about homosexually and their rigidity, but this story is not imagined but the real life of an imaginative, spirited, true to himself man.
Jude law and Stephen Fry are doing wonderful job as the in love Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas and Oscar Wilde and every scene between them made me cry- their love was so exciting and full with desire to be free from the society norm.
It is simply divine.The best scene, i feel, is the scene on the mopeds, OK I made that up but that would make a goddamn good movie.A woman once told me that Oscar Wilde was gay, but i had never believed her UNTIL THIS FILM!!Jude Law is exquisite, but really Stephen steals the show when he touches men.