The world is a stage but the play is badly cast – Oscar Wilde
Poet and Playwright Oscar Wilde is famous for many reasons. I’m most familiar with his whimsical satire of Victorian society The Importance of Being Earnest – a classic about love, deception and mistaken identity. A great character study… perfectly cast.
And I saw his lipstick covered tomb at the renowned Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France.
Other than that, I learned a lot more when viewing the special presentation of THE HAPPY PRINCE at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) yesterday.
No man is rich enough to buy back his past – Oscar Wilde
Actor Rupert Everett gives a simply remarkable performance as Wilde. He also impressively wrote and directed this powerfully empathetic account of the last years of the legendary Irish writer.
A short synopsis:
After spending two years in prison for his homosexuality—”gross indecency” was the official conviction—Wilde exiled himself to Paris, where he continued his self-destructive lifestyle while living in penury. Buoyed only by occasional contact with old friends Reggie Turner (Colin Firth) and Robbie Ross (Edwin Thomas), and with his wife (Emily Watson) and two sons far away, he’s a desperately lonely man who assuages his pain with alcohol, drugs and a succession of young men. Everett was born to play Wilde, and his open, deeply felt film both honours his idol and conveys the essence of a man who, deprived of the things that make life worth living, maintained his ironic sense of humour until the end.
I can resist everything except temptation – Oscar Wilde
More exciting cinema until October 12th at:
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