An Ideal Husband

Plot synopsis:
The play opens during a dinner party at the home of Sir Robert Chiltern in London's fashionable Grosvenor Square. Sir Robert, a prestigious member of the House of Commons, and his wife, Lady Chiltern, are hosting a gathering that includes his friend Lord Goring, a dandified bachelor and close friend to the Chilterns, Mabel Chiltern, and other genteel guests. During the party, Mrs. Cheveley, an enemy of Lady Chiltern's from their school days, attempts to blackmail Sir Robert into supporting a fraudulent scheme to build a canal in Argentina. Apparently, Mrs. Cheveley's dead mentor and lover, Baron Arnheim, convinced the young Sir Robert to sell him a Cabinet secret, a secret that suggested he buy stocks in the Suez Canal three days before the British government announced its purchase. Sir Robert made his fortune with that illicit money, and Mrs. Cheveley has the letter to prove his crime. Fearing the ruin of both career and marriage, Sir Robert submits to her demands.
When Mrs. Cheveley pointedly informs Lady Chiltern of Sir Robert's change of heart regarding the canal scheme, the morally inflexible Lady Chiltern, unaware of both her husband's past and the blackmail plot, insists that Sir Robert renege on his promise. For Lady Chiltern, their marriage is predicated on her having an "ideal husband"—that is, a model spouse in both private and public life that she can worship: thus Sir Robert must remain unimpeachable in all his decisions. Sir Robert complies with the lady's wishes and apparently seals his doom. Also toward the end of Act I, Mabel and Lord Goring come upon a diamond brooch that Lord Goring gave someone many years ago. Goring takes the brooch and asks that Mabel inform him if anyone comes to retrieve it.
In the second act, which also takes place at Sir Robert's house, Lord Goring urges Sir Robert to fight Mrs. Cheveley and admit his guilt to his wife. He also reveals that he and Mrs. Cheveley were formerly engaged. After finishing his conversation with Sir Robert, Goring engages in flirtatious banter with Mabel. He also takes Lady Chiltern aside and obliquely urges her to be less morally inflexible and more forgiving. Once Goring leaves, Mrs. Cheveley appears, unexpected, in search of a brooch she lost the previous evening. Incensed at Sir Robert's reneging on his promise, she ultimately exposes Sir Robert to his wife once they are both in the room. Unable to accept a Sir Robert now unmasked, Lady Chiltern then denounces her husband and refuses to forgive him.
In the third act, set in Lord Goring's home, Goring receives a pink letter from Lady Chiltern asking for his help, a letter that might be read as a compromising love note. Just as Goring receives this note, however, his father, Lord Caversham, drops in and demands to know when his son will marry. A visit from Sir Robert, who seeks further counsel from Goring, follows. Meanwhile, Mrs. Cheveley arrives unexpectedly and, misrecognised by the butler as the woman Goring awaits, is ushered into Lord Goring's drawing room. While she waits, she finds Lady Chiltern's letter. Ultimately, Sir Robert discovers Mrs. Cheveley in the drawing room and, convinced of an affair between these two former lovers, angrily storms out of the house.
When she and Lord Goring confront each other, Mrs. Cheveley makes a proposal. Claiming to still love Goring from their early days of courtship, she offers to exchange Sir Robert's letter for her old beau's hand in marriage. Lord Goring declines, accusing her of defiling love by reducing courtship to a vulgar transaction and ruining the Chilterns' marriage. He then springs his trap. Removing the diamond brooch from his desk drawer, he binds it to Cheveley's wrist with a hidden lock. Goring then reveals how the item came into her possession. Apparently Mrs. Cheveley stole it from his cousin, Mary Berkshire, years ago. To avoid arrest, Cheveley must trade the incriminating letter for her release from the bejewelled handcuff. After Goring obtains and burns the letter, however, Mrs. Cheveley steals Lady Chiltern's note from his desk. Vengefully she plans to send it to Sir Robert misconstrued as a love letter addressed to the dandified lord. Mrs. Cheveley exits the house in triumph.
The final act, which returns to Grosvenor Square, resolves the many plot complications sketched above with a decidedly happy ending. Lord Goring proposes to and is accepted by Mabel. Lord Caversham informs his son that Sir Robert has denounced the Argentine canal scheme before the House. Lady Chiltern then appears, and Lord Goring informs her that Sir Robert's letter has been destroyed but that Mrs. Cheveley has stolen her letter and plans to use it to destroy her marriage. At that moment, Sir Robert enters while reading Lady Chiltern's letter, but as the letter does not have the name of the addressee, he assumes it is meant for him, and reads it as a letter of forgiveness. The two reconcile. Lady Chiltern initially agrees to support Sir Robert's decision to renounce his career in politics, but Lord Goring dissuades her from allowing her husband to resign. When Sir Robert refuses Lord Goring his sister's hand in marriage, still believing he has taken up with Mrs. Cheveley, Lady Chiltern is forced to explain last night's events and the true nature of the letter. Sir Robert relents, and Lord Goring and Mabel are permitted to wed.

Tags: historical, comedy, satire, romantic

Review:
In fact, with all the Oscar Wilde wit which sounds wonderfully fresh here, there are also rich moments of emotional depth throughout this amusing but also quite moving film.One theme here - touching in hindsight - is how little it can take to destroy a reputation - Wilde was later to have some of the most painful possible firsthand experience of this.
It struck me while watching it both that Wilde had very French characteristics - a continental finesse, the love of repartee - and yet was profoundly an English writer by virtue of his faith in fair play and the bonds of (platonic) male friendship.In fact, Lord Goring, whose world-weary ways make him something of a surrogate for Wilde, is a distant cousin to Sidney Carton in coming to the defense of a 'nobler' friend even at great (possible) sacrifice to himself.
His very lack of seriousness is what makes his efforts on behalf of his friends so moving.With this, the pure visual beauty of actors like Cate Blanchett and Rupert Everett, matched by sumptuous costumes and sets, adds a sensuous element which, in a lesser film, might have dominated the movie.
Oliver Parker's revitalizing of Oscar Wilde's classic play is filmmaking at its finest.Every element of this film is superlative.
Seldom can you find a story that attempts to be a romantic comedy, a tale of duplicity blackmail and betrayal, and a drama of political intrigue, and succeeds so well on all counts.The intricate weave of deception, manipulation and double entendre along with comic misperception, irony and rapier witted dialogue are delicious and classic Wilde.
Rupert Everett, as the self absorbed Lord Arthur Goring, delivers an exquisite performance as the unscrupulous rogue upon whom the mantle of truth and honor is laid.Julianne Moore was delightful as the evil and cunning Mrs. Cheveley.
Moore handles this emotional juggling act with great skill and you find yourself simultaneously loving her ingeniousness and hating her treachery.Cate Blanchett turns in another wonderful performance as the oh-so-perfect, Lady Gertrud Chiltern.
While watching An Ideal Husband, I didn't object to the lack of suspense as long as Rupert Everett was working his way around those Wilde lines, which he does as well as anyone I've ever heard.I used to think Stephen Fry was Wilde on earth, but Fry is something wonderfully different -- Everett is Wilde on earth, or at least the actor that Wilde should have had around to deliver those lines when he wrote them.
I can only imagine the effect of that scene on straight women or gay men -- probably something akin to the effect Greta Scacchi's "I think we're alone now" smile at the end of The Coca-Cola Kid has on me.An Ideal Husband is full of good performances, with one glaring exception: the usually great Julianne Moore.
It may be that Moore was just outclassed by the Brits, who are born to this stuff.Cate Blanchett, whom I've seen in three movies, two of which were British period pieces, continues to amaze me with her range.The unsung hero of the movie is Jeremy Northam, who takes a thankless role -- the man in the play who isn't the Oscar Wilde figure -- and makes it emotionally compelling.
I saw "An Ideal Husband" at the Old Vic theater in London, and was surprised at the time how timely a 100 year old play could be.When I saw the trailers, TV ads and posters for this version, it seemed like an entirely different story--will Rupert Everett get married off.
That's certainly a thread in the movie, but in the marketing of this version, they made it appear as if it was the entire wardrobe.I didn't see the film when it was in theaters because these ads, with their very modern music and fast cutting, made the film look like a joke.But when it came out on video, I decided to try it, and am glad I did.The film itself is excellent.
Wilde's humor shines through, and the writer-director has done a wonderful job "opening" up the play into a film, without changing anything important.
An Ideal Husband - ****In 19th Century London, Sir Robert Chiltern (Jeremy Northam,) is a successful member of parliament married to the virtuous, fabulously popular Lady Gertrud Chiltern (Cate Blanchett.)  Sir Robert's sister Mabel (Minnie Driver) is infatuated with Sir Robert's friend, Lord Arthur Goring (Rupert Everett.)  The dashing Lord Goring, the wealthy son of the Earl of Caversham, is an inveterate bachelor who lives a life of leisure.
We learn that the noble Sir Robert is less than perfect, while the rakish bachelor Lord Goring possesses a surprising level of honor and insight.If Shakespeare in Love deserved an Oscar, this film deserves the Nobel Prize.
But the true star of the film is Rupert Everett as Lord Arthur Goring.
The cast was superb from Jeremy Northam, Sir Robert Chiltern the title character, to Cate Blanchett, Lady Gertrud Chiltern his wife, to Minnie Driver, Mabel Chiltern his sister, to Rupert Everett, Lord Arthur Goring his friend, and Julianne Moore, Mrs. Cheveley.
"An Ideal Husband" is a charming though contrived little 19th century English period comedy with the subtly sardonic sense of humor typical of Oscar Wilde.
Rupert Everett and Minnie Driver play their parts to perfection, and so do all the remaining actors.
I can't get enough of Arthur, Lord Goring, or of Laura Chevely, who are both wonderful to look upon, and the script is full of funny dry wit, plus it's a good story.
In the midst of blockbusters and bathroom humour, Oliver Parker decided to film a faithful version of an Oscar Wilde play, complete with authentic costumes, elaborate sets and witty, wonderful dialogue.
The actors, particularly Rupert Everett, Jeremy Northam, Cate Blanchett and Minnie Driver, are obviously having a lot of fun as they sink their teeth into this worthwhile material.
Comedy plays like those that Oscar Wilde are tough to do; go one way, and it's too smug and arch, go another and it's too labored and drawn out.
Certainly Rupert Everett is effortless enough, and he's not only good in of himself, but everyone else is at ease when acting with him(I particularly like his sparring with Minnie Driver).
It was painful to watch perfectly wonderful actors -- Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchette, Rupert Everett, Minnie Driver -- gesticulate their way through the wildly unfunny material, and even more painful to witness the usually insipid Jeremy Northam get way too much screen time.
Based on the Oscar Wilde play of the same name, "An Ideal Husband" scores as a moderately entertaining drawing room comedy thanks to the elegance of its design and the performances of its first rate cast.
No one smiles more sincerely or maintains such immense social poise while slicing one's opponents to shreds than the elite of England - and this quality director Oliver Parker captures in complete fidelity to Wilde's overall vision.Jeremy Northam portrays a highly respected and happily married member of the House of Commons who is suddenly confronted with a moral dilemma:  should he allow a blackmailer to expose an egregiously immoral action in his past, thereby ensuring the ruination of both his career and his marriage, or should he go along with the blackmailer's demands and publicly support a cause he knows to be highly unethical and injurious to both his people and his nation?
Rupert Everett also stars as a confirmed bachelor who manages to become intricately involved in everyone's affairs.The film succeeds most when it concentrates on the stuffiness of the stiff-upper-lipped British tradition juxtaposed to the single-minded viciousness of the Moore character.
Wilde, on the other end of the morality spectrum, also subtly jabs at the unrealistic obsession with virtue in the character of Northam's impossibly pure wife (Cate Blanchett);  she erects so high a moral pedestal for her husband to stand upon that it is only after she has been caught in a moral infraction herself that the world these characters inhabit can come back into any sort of balance.The film is probably least effective when trying to cope with the complex interweaving and overlapping of the characters and their situations.
I went into this movie expecting to like it-- after all, it got rave reviews, I love this "type" of film, and I'm a big fan of most of the stars.
Both films did what An Ideal Husband attempted and failed to do.One last point to hammer home-- the close-ups of Rupert Everett's left ear revealed 2 earring holes (an anachronism or at least a reminder that THIS IS A MOVIE).
Chiltern turns to his friend, the idle and self obsessed Lord Goring for help, drawing him into a game of deception and love.The audience for this film is pretty easy to define.
The film opens out the play and includes a few in-jokes for Wilde fans and it is effective in making for a slick product even if it takes the edge of the actual characters.The witty dialogue is good and it won't disappoint fans of the play.
Driver is also great as his love interest and her scenes with Everett are the best of the film.
Wood and Vaughan both have small roles but get laughs every time!Overall this is a sparky little movie that will appeal to those who love the cut and thrust of well written, witty dialogue and playful to's and fro's between the characters.
"An ideal husband" is a forgettable movie: a routine work that produce poor results from Wilde's brilliant matter..
Rupert Everett is outstanding, as were Minnie Driver, Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett and the poor man whose name I just can't remember right now...
This film is self-described as "based on" Oscar Wilde's stage play, and that's accurate.
Nevertheless, it's entirely fun to watch and entirely worth it.My wife and I think this might be Wilde's best play, because it cuts a bit deeper than his more famous Importance of Being Earnest and really does have a serious message to go with the trademark Wilde comedy and unbeatable wit.
The acting is fine, led by Rupert Everett as Arthur Goring: all the Wilde plays have a character who represent Wilde himself, and Arthur is the best case of that.
Julianne Moore is fine as the villainously smooth snake who ignites the ticking time bomb that makes up the plot, Jeremy Northam and Cate Blanchett play the husband and wife pair who gradually come to understand each other, and themselves, better as they go along, and Minnie Driver is their sister who finally maneuvers Arthur into proposing, much to his own surprise.It's all a fun ride, though you end up wondering if they could have produced a version that would have been a bit more faithful to Wilde's text.
This screen version of the Oscar Wilde play is gorgeous to look at, has an all-star cast and opens out the action superbly.
I'm still not quite sure what audience the producers hoped to attract but then who would ever have guessed a movie entitle "Shakespeare in Love" would win the Oscar as the year's best picture.Of course, Wilde's original play isn't quite in "The Importance of Being Earnest" class, (and in a nice touch the characters here attend a performance of that very play), but director Oliver Parker pulls out all the stops and the end result is very entertaining.
The epigrammatic Wilde character is Lord Goring and Rupert Everett fits the part like a well-tailored glove but again it's the women who hold court and both Cate Blanchett, (Lady Chiltern), and Julianne Moore, (the very devious Mrs. Cheveley), are excellent while Jeremy Northam is a surprisingly effective Sir Robert.
A nod is given in "An Ideal Husband" to Wilde's masterpiece, "The Importance of Being Earnest", and there's even a brief appearance by Wilde himself, a self-indulgent man whose most selfish act was to destroy himself so that we couldn't get more polished and shining plays from him.
`An Ideal Husband' Rupert Everett stars as Lord Arthur Goring, a bachelor who's ex-finance (Julianne Moore) comes strolling back into town with a secret.
Set in 1894 London, and adapted from the stage play by Oscar Wilde, `Husband' is the latest costume drama where `scandal' and `society' are the buzzwords and tedium is the audience's reaction.
Script by Wilde; Minnie & Cate and the delicious Rupert Everett and Jeremy Northam.
Rupert Everett was born for this sort of role, and all the other stars do well, though Minnie Driver is Short-changed, with little plot device or wit to work with.
'An Ideal Husband' comes to the big screen for the second time here as Jeremy Northam's Sir Robert Chiltern is blackmailed by Mrs Cheveley (Julianne Moore) because of a mistake in his past.
Supported ably by Cate Blanchett as spotless Lady Gertrude, Rupert Everett as Lord Goring, John Wood as Goring's father, Lord Caversham, and Lindsay Duncan as Lady Markby, this version manages to be both entertaining and have a refreshing take on the play.Opened out from stage constraints as a film should be, this version is well-acted, energetic, but perhaps a little short on focus.
'An Ideal Husband' can be played seriously or as high farce; this film stumbles a bit before it decides which way to go..
I wish I could carry on a conversation like the characters in An Ideal Husband or any of Wilde's other stories.
Because the character of Lord Goring, whom you will find on the DVD cover played by Rupert Everett, is not "bright" or "smart" or even "epigrammatic." He is witty, and that is that.
This film is about a lady blackmailing a respectable lord, causing many merry misunderstandings and mischiefs in the subsequent days.Oscar Wilde adaptations always lighten up my heart.
I watched this film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's an Ideal Husband to complement my study of it for a 19th century English drama course.
This film carries all the wit that is expected from an Oscar Wilde play.
An Ideal Husband	B-/B+					7.10.00	1.85:1/5.1 	First Viewing		16:9 EnhancedBased on an Oscar Wilde play, this witty piece stars Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver, Julianne Moore and Rupert Everett.
Overall a very entertaining and witty film with a great performance by Rupert Everett..
I hadn't encountered Wilde's `An Ideal Husband' before seeing the movie; it's a much cleverer work than `The Importance of Being Ernest', just as funny when it wants to be, and yet more evidence that the nihilistic Wilde we think we know is a fabrication, dreamed up by people who have only read `Ernest' and the beginning, but not the end, of `The Picture of Dorian Gray'.
The whole character of the delightful Mabel was of course ruined by the knowing grimaces of Minnie Driver and I counted Rupert Everett`s pores several times.
This involves some remarkable timing coincidences which you can get away with in the theatre but often look a bit strange in the more naturalistic film medium.Rupert Everett is perfectly cast as Lord Goring, "the idlest man in London," and the most Wilde-like of all the characters.
This movie was a treat with its lush sets of amazing homes of the British aristocracy of the late 1800s, clever Oscar Wilde plot, and interesting characters.
Oscar Wilde penned his play An Ideal Husband in 1895, the same year he wrote and opened his famous opus The Importance Of Being Earnest.
Now they know they can trust him.End of play.There's another subplot or two, cleverly written, as we would expect from Mr Wilde, (screenplay by the film's director Oliver Parker).
These involve blossoming love between Robert's sister Mabel (Minnie Driver) and his best friend Goring (Rupert Everett?) but I find these Rule Britannia, London season films increasingly offensive.Australians are soon to vote on whether Australia should throw over England and become a Republic.
Oliver Parker managed to create a wonderful movie from Oscar Wilde's witty play.
(It's Jeremy, in my book.)  Great writing, courtesy of Oscar Wilde and director/screenwriter Oliver Parker; spirited, fun performances from everyone, especially Everett and Julianne Moore, and the splendid production design make this movie one of my favorites of '99 so far.
Oliver Parker wrote and directed this consistently charming Victorian romantic comedy, based on the Oscar Wilde play, about a lazy bachelor (played by Rupert Everett) who juggles his friends (Jeremy Northam and Cate Blanchett as a politically-involved husband and wife) lives in one hand and a budding romance with Minnie Driver in the other.
The dueling words of Rupert Everett and Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting) created a playful tension and very pleasant resolution at the end.The casting and acting, due to the majority of English actors, were enchanting.
Rupert Everett, Minnie Driver, and Jeremy Northam lit up the screen with thick, aristocratic accents coupled with the good vocal coaching (Bravo dialect coach) of Julianne Moore and Cate Blanchett not only created atmosphere but held their own, fighting dialect and quick wit.
The public may be surprised that Oscar-caliber performances (Everett and Northam chiefly) have come so early this film year.This movie shone from start to finish.
I also enjoy watching the screen between Rupurt Everett and the actor who played his father in the movie-I couldn't contain myself from laughers each time the two appeared on screen together.
It details a blackmail scheme between Sir Robert Chiltern (Jeremy Northam) his wife, Lady Gertrud Chiltern (Cate Blanchett) and Mrs. Laura Cheveley (Julianne Moore).
There is the social reception, Lord Arthur Goring, (Rupert Everett as the Ideal Husband, who was also in "A Midsummer Night's Dream,") and his hidden love for Mabel Chiltern (Minnie Driver), his father's desire for Arthur to wed, and many other lesser blackmail gambles that keep the audience at a peek of tension.The movie's structure is generally effective as it brings to our attention a main problem, complications, character issues, gradually raising the tension level, and finally a pleasant solution that is needed for this type of entertainment.