The Happy Prince * * *
Over the years there have been a few films on the life of Oscar Wilde, but this one is different. Rather than concluding when he was imprisoned, this one commences when he got out of prison.
The film is written and directed by Rupert Everett and he also plays Oscar Wilde. One gets the impression he is somewhat obsessed with him.
The recreation of the period is flawless. It's dirty, cold, unsavory. Wilde is penniless and living a miserable life in Paris under an assumed name. If he gets any money he is likely to spend it on rent boys. He is now a drunkard, the bar-flys and wastrels he hangs out with wouldn't know who he is. To most of them he's just an amusing pub crawler and a tolerated old "Molly". His only friends are Reggie Turner (Colin Firth) and Robbie Ross (Edwin Thomas) who pop across the English Chanel from time to time to visit him.
It's a sad film in many ways, which I don't mind; but it's also a bit of a slog. As these were his latter days I wonder if his lack of future is what made The Happy Prince somewhat boring. He was doing very little writing - after his fall from grace no one would publish him anyway. Any happier moments are conveyed to us through his memory.
The same lover that got him into trouble - Bosie (Colin Morgan) - returns to him and they go to Italy. Bosie is portrayed as a selfish, demanding, brat with remarkable good looks. But Wilde is still crazy about him. Meanwhile, back in England, his estranged and socially shunned wife must make some hard decisions about the future of herself and their two sons.
The Happy Prince is a very good and worthy film. But for me it was just a bit tedious. I felt like I was plowing my way through one of those dull novels which one really should read.
The title comes from the children's story that Wilde wrote, which he narrates to entranced listeners from time to time. It's somewhat analogous with Oscar Wilde as the Prince and Robbie Ross as the willing Swallow taking the Princes treasures and giving them to the "poor"until there is nothing left of him.
The film is written and directed by Rupert Everett and he also plays Oscar Wilde. One gets the impression he is somewhat obsessed with him.
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It's a sad film in many ways, which I don't mind; but it's also a bit of a slog. As these were his latter days I wonder if his lack of future is what made The Happy Prince somewhat boring. He was doing very little writing - after his fall from grace no one would publish him anyway. Any happier moments are conveyed to us through his memory.
The same lover that got him into trouble - Bosie (Colin Morgan) - returns to him and they go to Italy. Bosie is portrayed as a selfish, demanding, brat with remarkable good looks. But Wilde is still crazy about him. Meanwhile, back in England, his estranged and socially shunned wife must make some hard decisions about the future of herself and their two sons.
The Happy Prince is a very good and worthy film. But for me it was just a bit tedious. I felt like I was plowing my way through one of those dull novels which one really should read.
The title comes from the children's story that Wilde wrote, which he narrates to entranced listeners from time to time. It's somewhat analogous with Oscar Wilde as the Prince and Robbie Ross as the willing Swallow taking the Princes treasures and giving them to the "poor"until there is nothing left of him.
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