Wilde (film)
| Wilde | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Brian Gilbert |
| Produced by |
Marc Samuelson Peter Samuelson |
| Written by | Julian Mitchell |
| Based on |
Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellmann |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Debbie Wiseman |
| Cinematography | Martin Fuhrer |
| Edited by | Michael Bradsell |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (UK) Sony Pictures Classics (USA) |
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Release date
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Running time
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118 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £5.6 million |
| Box office | $2,158,775 (US) |
Wilde is a 1997 British biographical film directed by Brian Gilbert with Stephen Fry in the title role. The screenplay by Julian Mitchell is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1987 biography of Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellmann.
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.
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