Wilde (1998) (Special Edition)

Oscar at his height

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Nov 12, 2000 | 6 out of 6 found this Wilde (1998) review helpful

This is a good and beautiful film, but do not approach it thinking that this is the full story of Oscar Wilde's life. It skips his formative years at Oxford, where he had a fascination with Roman Catholicism, art, and ancient history. He particularl...y struggled with two views of "Greek love"--the platonic, idealistic kind and the unashamed sexual kind. It also skips the early years of his career, when Wilde could not easily establish himself as an art critic and was subject to criticism from the press during his American lecture tours.What this film actually covers is Oscar at the height of his fame and then later at the height of his infamy, during his trials and imprisonment. I don't blame the filmmakers for having to skip over some of his life to make a film of practical length, but do keep in mind that the full story is actually in Richard Ellmann's biography of Wilde, on which the film is based. The tale of the "Selfish Giant" is wonderfully used to narrate parts of the film, and Wilde's wit is evident in the many speeches and writings quoted from.The film's sexual scenes may disturb some viewers, but I think it's not worse than the kinds of heterosexual scenes that are shown in R-rated films all the time. It all contrasts very well with the public hypocrisy and masks that is maintained by society.Also, even if Bosie Douglas really is a petulant little spendthrift, this Wilde film does not seem to show that Oscar Wilde himself frequently had trouble living within his means. Wilde shouldn't be thought of as too saintly. This film also claims that Constance Wilde died before Wilde got back together with Bosie; this is not true. Wilde, in a moment of weakness, returned to Bosie while Constance was still alive and hesitating for months on whether she would see him again.Despite such limitations, this is a well-paced and lovely film. Read more Less