"A burnt child loves the fire," Oscar Wilde was once quoted as saying, and these six words aptly describe his own fatal attraction to the capricious young aristocrat Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas. It was a relationship that would ultimately destroy Wilde's career, his family and his health, and yet after all the damage was done, Wilde still sought shelter in Douglas' arms.
What was the appeal? According to "Wilde," adapted by Julian Mitchell from Richard Ellman's biography "Oscar Wilde," it seems to have been a combination of sheer romanticism and all-consuming masochism. As portrayed by the gifted Jude Law (Broadway's "Indiscretions," "Gattaca"), Douglas is almost painfully handsome and often charming. But he's also very much an overgrown rebellious adolescent, prone to temper tantrums and blistering verbal attacks on Wilde, whom Douglas seems to regard as both unworthy of him and also as the perfect weapon to use in his fight against his mad father, the Marquess of Queensberry (Tom Wilkinson).
By the time he met Douglas, Wilde (Stephen Fry) was already married, a father and a bright light in the London theater scene, thanks to the success of "Lady Windemere's Fan." He was also already regarded by polite society as a shady character because of his "dangerous" novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray." "Artists care nothing about respectability," Wilde's mother (Vanessa Redgrave) assures his wife Constance (Jennifer Ehle), who frets about Oscar's reputation.
In his lavish telling of a tragic story, director Brian Gilbert holds back very little. "Wilde" does not shy away from showing either Wilde and Douglas carousing in all-male brothels ("I do love you, Oscar, but variety is the spice of life," Douglas huffs as he leads Wilde in) or Wilde's voyeuristic habits.
The film also makes no attempt to conceal the walking paradox that was Wilde himself. Wilde's story "The Selfish Giant" becomes a recurring motif in the scenes showing Wilde's family life: Although he could write a lovely fable about the virtues of being generous, Wilde is depicted as a father too absorbed in his work and love affairs to pay much attention to his sons.
Even more pointedly, although the Irish-born author insists "all my life I've fought against the English vice, hypocrisy," Wilde refused to publicly admit his homosexuality, even going so far as to sue for libel after the Marquess wrote a note alleging he was a "sodomite." The lawsuit -- prompted, of course, by Douglas' hatred of his father -- would ultimately disgrace Wilde and everyone around him.
Fry brings the vulnerable soul beneath Wilde's scathing wit to the surface, making it clear that even though Wilde realized his relationship with Douglas was futile ("you're my catstrophe, my doom," he murmurs to Douglas between kisses) he was powerless to resist. Fry also captures Wilde's poise and imposing physical presence: He truly was the Selfish Giant, not the paunchy little man he's often portrayed as. Law, quickly becoming an actor to watch, has the necessary allure and off-putting petulance the character of Douglas requires, and Wilkinson is suitably frenzied as his bloodthirsty dad. James Sanford
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