I know he was a famous playwright, and I knew he did The Importance Of Being Earnest and The Picture Of Dorian Gray. But he was never a major figure that was explored or talked about when I was at school. So I only knew him from any mentions in pop culture.
So I was up for picking up a lot of knowledge in this viewing, whilst also having a memorable experience. Also, with Rupert Everett billing this as a passion project, I know we were in safe hands as I was already aware of Everett's love for Wilde's material.
Well I certainly found out a lot more about this troubled character and it ended up being a rather nice watch. Early on, I was already getting an image of the life this man had lead and I was amazed at how relevant this story is in today's society.
I was also noticing some strong construction in the film-making as the production looked top-notch, there was a lot of picturesque location shots and I noticed some very nice editing in its sequences.
It goes without saying that Rupert Everett gives a great performance as Wilde. It's quite the transformation, I felt it was a career best performance and you can feel that he wanted to do the man himself proud and it his performance that carries the film. It was the role that was made for him.
It was great to see Colin Morgan be involved in this. He's mainly known for playing Merlin in the BBC TV series of the same title. Morgan certainly did a good job, felt convincing and contributed well, particularly in the second half.
Another Colin was involved in this, that being Colin Firth. You know what to expect with Firth, and that's what you get with his performance. It's not a stand-out. But it fitted in nicely when required.
I was somewhat disappointed with the lack of Emily Watson in this. While her role sounds important, the amount of screen-time felt like a bit of a waste for an actor with such high talent.
It's a purposefully sad story, and it managed to work the right emotions with me. I truly felt that I was watching a great man being ridiculed and being on his death bed, both professionally and literally.
Throughout the film, you get a true sense of how our main character is feeling and for me that was thanks to Everett's performance and the strong directing.
However, it does lose itself at times and flirts with being self-indulgent. But I think the film refrained itself in the end.
If you're looking to see Wilde at his finest, then this is not the film for you. I think the choice of telling his final years was the right one, as the topics covered are more relatable to whats being discussed in society at the moment.
I felt the passion within the story, the characters, actors and people behind the scenes in the final product. It ended up being a fairly good viewing experience with top acting, a solid story and a noticeably creative construction in its technical side.
It might not be the type of film I would watch again. But it remains one that I would recommend.
Rating: 7/10
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