Wilde (1997)
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Wilde Movie Review
Wilde is a 1997 biopic directed by Brian Gilbert and starring Stephen Fry and Jude Law. It’s a particularly strong, very well made genre flick.
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“In this world there are only two tragedies.
One is not getting what one wants.
The other is getting it.“
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It follows the life of Oscar Wilde from 1882 until his release from prison. Yes, it actually doesn’t cover his death, but that’s a great approach as it’s thus less clichéd and refreshing. We know what happened to him so seeing only the credits show that was a great move on the part of the filmmakers.
I know Oscar Wilde’s biography pretty well so I can account for this film’s true to facts approach. It follows his life mostly very faithfully and that was essential as his life was so interesting and eventful that there was no need for further details to be added or overblown.
The movie is also very sexual and frank when it comes to his sexuality which is something that horrible lie of a movie ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ should have taken notice of. This is how you do a movie about a famous gay person who’s had a wild life. Everything is showcased pretty graphically and the movie is very sensual and sexy.
That’s in no small part thanks to Jude Law who was perfectly cast as Alfred Bosie Douglas. Yes, this is typecasting, but the best type of casting nonetheless as Law has always been a great fit for these kinds of roles. He plays Douglas very sensually and erotically, and witnessing how Bosie destroyed Wilde’s life was truly devastating as he wouldn’t have died hadn’t he met him. They really showcased his family background and irritating, horrible personality traits so well.
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Stephen Fry himself is also terrific as Oscar Wilde. He fits the role so well, and he sold all of his emotional moments, as well as his humorous ones. Oscar here is very amusing and hilarious at times with his witty remarks and a lot of charisma. They somewhat subdued, I think, the character’s wilder side, but overall this was a great portrayal.
I also liked the scenes with Douglas’s father and those were quite realistic with all the homophobic slurs being accurate for its time period. The movie explored homophobia of its time surprisingly well and in a subtle manner whereas the court sequences are really terrific and they showcased how hopelessly naive Oscar was leading to his tragic death.
Yes, the entire movie had that tragic quality to it as you really feel sorry for the guy and how he was born in the wrong time. Also, his wife was such a great sport, and his first love Robbie Ross was such a good man that you can’t help but wonder how well his life would have turned out had he stayed with him instead.
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Wilde truly is very emotional. It also features stellar dialogue and is superbly written across the board. I would have liked to have seen less of his wife and children, but still that was a part of his life so it needed to have been portrayed. The humor and the dialogue are both on-point, and the movie does portray the majority of the most important events of his life very well. Some parts aren’t as interesting, but overall the pacing is surprisingly strong for a biopic as it is a very involving movie to watch.
Thanks to fittingly stellar dialogue and Oscar’s very accurate portrayal, Wilde is a successful biopic across the board that’s surprisingly engaging throughout as the pacing is great. Both Stephen Fry and Jude Law were so well cast and both did a great job in their roles. The film is above all else very emotional as it’s tragic how he was born in the wrong time.
