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Ideal Husband (1999)
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by Miramax
Sales Rank: 15871
Price: $9.99
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Sexy leading man Rupert Everett (SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING) heads an acclaimed all-star cast in this wonderfully witty story of decadence, romance, and scandal! Sir Robert (Jeremy Northam -- HAPPY TEXAS, MIMIC) is a highly respected politician whose spotless reputation is the pride of his beautiful wife (Cate Blanchett -- ELIZABETH) and adoring sister (Minnie Driver -- GOOD WILL HUNTING, GROSSE POINTE BLANK). But when an old acquaintance (Julianne Moore -- BOOGIE NIGHTS, THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK) threatens to reveal a dark secret from Robert's past, only his womanizing party-loving best friend Goring (Everett) is scheming and dishonest enough to come to his aid! Overwhelmingly acclaimed by critics -- you'll love this fresh, funny motion picture and its stellar ensemble as they elevate the art of blackmail to an elegant game of wit and passion!
Viewer Reviews
Everybody likes Oscar Wilde. Some even feel sorry for him. But he doesn't need our pity: we need his wise and witty insight.
Oliver Parker really likes Oscar Wilde. He's done An Ideal Husband in 1999 (director, screenplay, and plays a character called Bunbury); The Importance of Being Ernest in 2002, (director and screenplay); and is working on his version of Dorian Gray which will be released in 2009. This is a look at the 1999 film.
It's probable that the big screen treatment and some well known actors will bring an audience to Wilde's plays that would never attend a theatre performance of them, let alone read them (the texts are available as a free download at www.manybooks.com). But a cinematic treatment must in some sense be an adaptation, not merely a performance, so something is gained and something is lost.
Oscar Wilde turned from prose to theatre in 1891 and after writing some lesser plays, in 1895 produced his two best works, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Ernest. Then he was attacked because of his homosexuality (probably bisexuality) tried (there were three trials and two acquittals before the prosecution succeeded), sent to prison, bankrupted, separated from his family and driven, ill, into exile, where he soon died. The punishment is a landmark of legal injustice. Before his destruction Wilde created a theatre that excelled that of Congreve and Sheridan. He exhibited a mastery of construction and a brilliance in dialogue that have never been excelled in English dramatic literature. He also revealed, beneath the surface brilliance, an astonishing understanding of human nature. These two plays are characterised by witty insight and entertaining wisdom.
Adapting such precisely constructed works is like disassembling a watch and putting the parts in a wall clock. Each of the parts might well work, but the clock may not tell the right time. Before looking at Parker's adaption it is worth noting how An Ideal Husband has been treated by other film makers. Alexander Korda's 1947 version with Paulette Goddard as Cheveley is an adaptation that remains poised between film and stage and succeeds as neither. Rudolph Cartier directed a version for the BBC in 1969 with Jeremy Brett and Margaret Leighton. This version managed to bring out both the drama and the comedy of the play (Wilde as successfully merges genres as does Shakespeare) and is a stage version with the only filmic contribution the fluid camera movement. This version is probably the best acted one. The 1998 version directed by Bill Cartlidge, with Jonathan Firth and Prunella Scales, is much too static to be successful, though some performances are very good.
Parker's 1999 version stars Cate Blanchett and Jeremy Northam as the Chilterns, Minnie Driver as Mabel, Rupert Everett as Goring and Julianne Moore as Cheveley. Parker rewrites the script, leaving out episodes and putting in several of his own. His film includes extensive location shots and very effective use of the sets and costumes available.
Two things emerge from Parker's rewrite. Firstly, he's not nearly as good a dramatist as Wilde. Some Parker episodes, such as Sir Robert's speech before Parliament or Lady Chiltern's admission of having told a lie, I found embarrassingly awkward. Insertion of location shots I thought sometimes ruined the pace of an episode, with more than once a street or countryside scene interrupting a fast paced dialogue.
Secondly, Parker is turning what is originally a witty and exciting drama into a romantic comedy. Marketing, I suppose.
What concerned me more was the actor's delivery of their lines. Avoiding the over precise, clipped enunciation common in Wilde meant to tell us we are hearing epigrams, the actors in this film frequently murmur or whisper to one another and just as frequently speak without moving their lips. I don't want to have the play stop while an actor delivers a witty line but I do want to hear the remark.
These things have been done to get away from theatre (Errgh!) and present the audience with something they are familiar with in the cinema. By and large it works, largely by effective acting. All of the principals are good, though I don't agree with some of the direction they get. This is a good introduction to Wilde. I think anyone who likes it will like the BBC version (now available on DVD) better . And the plays are good to read.
Parker's Ernest suffers from the same pros and cons as his Husband. Again, the BBC version is the one I prefer. Directed by Stuart Burge in 1986, it stars Joan Plowright as Bracknell, Paul McGann as Worthing and Rupert Frazer as Algernon Moncrieff. This in my view excels the famous Anthony Asquith 1952 version with Edith Evans and Michael Redgrave. Both of these last two are filmed plays and the films work very well, the groundwork having been done for the directors by Wilde's masterly construction.
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