I'm not a frequent crier but there were tears throughout the sombre beauty of The Happy Prince. Rupert Everett's portrayal of Wilde is matched only by his writing and directing of the film, which is simply stunning.
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| Firth, Everett and Thomas - the early days after Wilde's release from prison |
Anyone who is unfamiliar with the story of Oscar Wilde - and I am sure such people exist - will be thrown in at the deep end. The story sheds light on the least glamorous part of Wilde's life, following his release from prison, while offering only flashbacks to the former glories and his downfall at the hands of the Marquess of Queensberry.
What is joyful about Everett's film is the many reminders of Wilde's writings. The thread running throughout is the telling of The Happy Prince, first to the author's two sons and then to the Parisian orphans he befriends (if that is entirely the right word) in the last few months of his life. As the short story comes to a close on Wilde's deathbed, the parallel between its subject and its author is only too painful. Once beauty is gone, all that remains is the heart, which can be discarded or it can be treasured.
Throughout the film, there are references to - and quotations from - other Wilde masterpieces, including The Picture of Dorian Grey and The Ballad of Reading Gaol. The fact that one of the best film adaptations of Wilde's finest play, The Importance of Being Earnest, also features Everett and co-stars Colin Firth and Tom Wilkinson, adds a further layer to Everett's passion.
The inevitable death occurs, with Wilde's last stalwart friends Robbie Ross and Reggie Turner close by. Everett cannot resist the humour of Wilkinson's priest, who received the dying author into the Catholic church and administered the last rites. There is a tragic beauty in the scene which is only enhanced by the subtle comedy.
Facts begin and end the film. The mention of Wilde's pardon in January 2017 under the new Turing's Law only makes the tale of his downfall more poignant. Who knows what further great works he might have written, had he not been sentenced to two years' hard labour in 1895 for gross indecency? If his infatuation with Lord Alfred Douglas hadn't been so criminal and controversial at the time, it perhaps would have fizzled out and not brought about such a catastrophic downfall. So many 'what if' scenarios. So many tears to shed in the dark beauty of The Happy Prince.
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