AN IDEAL HUSBAND Reviewed by Jamie Peck
Rating: ***1/2 (out of four) Miramax / 1:36 / 1999 / PG-13 (brief, out-of-focus nudity, steamy romantic clinches) Cast: Rupert Everett; Julianne Moore; Jeremy Northam; Cate Blanchett; Minnie Driver; John Wood; Peter Vaughn Director: Oliver Parker Screenplay: Oliver Parker
Shameful pasts. Secret affairs. Astonishing revelations. Political intrigue. No, "An Ideal Husband" isn't a depiction of recent turmoil in our nation's capital - though the title would take on an ironic new meaning were that the case. Instead, it's a handsome adaptation of the beloved Oscar Wilde play, and the story, with all of its aforementioned scandalous components, couldn't render it timelier. Or funnier: Wilde's penchant for epigrams and one-liners remains despite some necessary cinematic tinkering on the part of director/writer Oliver Parker.
Parker, who helmed the fiery Laurence Fishburne "Othello" a few years back, takes liberties here just like he did there. His "Othello" lopped off about half of the source text and modified the rest in favor of mass audience appeal, but Wilde purists will be happy to know that no such sacrilegious bombshells are dropped with "Husband." The biggest changes involve expanding beyond the original's mere four scenes in terms of action and setting, modifications which serve its cinematic status while staying faithful to the genius of Wilde. A series of potentially stuffy high-society gatherings, both public and personal, are now broken up with sequences in lush countrysides and conservatories.
Complain about this restructuring if you must, but please speak fondly of the cast. "An Ideal Husband" lays claim to an A-list of performers in its featured quintet of roles, and each has delicious things to do and say - especially Rupert Everett. Somehow snubbed by the Academy for his savory supporting turn in 1997's "My Best Friend's Wedding," Everett could see Oscar rebound for his delightfully droll turn as Sir Arthur Goring, an idle bachelor with little on his to-do list and even less to say. "I love talking about nothing," he deadpans on the subject of upper-crust chit-chat in a typically wry bit of Wilde wit. "It's the only thing I know anything about."
Well, there'll be plenty to discuss soon enough. Devilish debutante Miss Cheveley (Julianne Moore), Goring's ex-fiancee, surfaces in his late-1800s London province to discuss marriage while secretly blackmailing Sir Robert Chiltern (class act Jeremy Northam, making his dilemma palpable), Goring's best friend and an up-and-coming figure in parliament, with a skeleton long buried in his closet. Chiltern's loyal wife (Cate Blanchett) and siren sister (Minnie Driver, never better) also poke their way into this tremendously tangled character-woven web; the former finds herself at a crossroads after learning her hubby's secret, the latter rivals Miss Cheveley for Goring's affections.
"An Ideal Husband" probably sounds more complex than it is. Though classics aren't usually associated with accessibility, Parker, taking a cue from his "Othello" work, keeps his multi-layered people and plots remarkably straight - even when motivation gets a little murky and certain strands don't quite hit the highs of others. But since this is mostly an actors' movie, those flaws seem more minute than they already are. Aside from Everett's show-stealing, there's Aussie Blanchett again proving chameleonic range after her robust ruler in "Elizabeth" and Joisey gal in "Pushing Tin" and American Moore flaunting a Gwyneth-class Brit accent, her devilish mouth curling around every suggestive word.
With Jane Austen's library-to-screen craze gone but not forgotten and the Bard nearing the end of his "Shakespeare in Love"-induced hot streak, "Husband"'s sparkling, irresistible and gentle comedy of manners could be just the art-house draw to give Wilde his due in the mainstream spotlight. It's not likely that this forecast will need much luck: In a summer full of lightsabers, mojo and glossy star vehicles, the film already ranks as a smallish but rewarding breath of fresh air. Throw in special effects that are 100 percent human, and "An Ideal Husband" makes for a movie bet that's beyond ideal.
© 1999 Jamie Peck E-mail: jpeck1@gl.umbc.edu Visit The Reel Deal Online: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jpeck1/ "Here it is at last, the first 150-minute trailer. 'Armageddon' is cut together like its own highlights. Take almost any 30 seconds at random, and you'd have a TV ad. The movie is an assault on the eyes, the ears, the brain, common sense and the human desire to be entertained. No matter what they're charging to get in, it's worth more to get out." -Roger Ebert on "Armageddon"
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews