Review: An Ideal Husband (1999)

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An Ideal Husband

Rating

Director

Oliver Parker

Screenplay

Oliver Parker (Play: Oscar Wilde)

Length

1h 37m

Starring

Peter Vaughan, Rupert Everett, Minnie Driver, Cate Blanchett, Ben Pullen, Marsha Fitzalan, Julianne Moore, Lindsay Duncan, Neville Phillips, John Wood, Jeremy Northam, Nickolas Grace, Simon Russell Beale

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Review

British upper class have been portrayed in film for decades as elitist megalomaniacs who never seem to know what’s going on around them. However, they are often most savvy when it comes to dealing with business, but romance, on the other hand, is something they can never seem to get right.

“An Ideal Husband,” an adaptation of an Oscar Wilde play stars Rupert Everett as Lord Arthur Goring, who views British society cynically and never goes a minute without insulting some aspect. His best friend, Sir Robert Chiltern (Jeremy Northam) is a member of British parliament who has recently looked into a Suez Canal deal and plans on trashing in front of parliament.

One of Goring’s ex-lovers is Laura Cheveley (Julianne Moore), a wealthy socialite who has recently come into town from Austria and wants to persuade Chiltern into supporting the Suez deal. When he initially turns her down, she vows to make him regret having done so and tells him of his past to the letter and the fact that his money didn’t come from where everyone thinks it did.

It turns out that he had embezzled a large sum of money from a previous employer and never told anyone other than an old friend who lived in Austria, Cheveley’s husband. This provides the fodder for an intense rivalry between Cheveley, Goring, Chiltern and his wife Gertrud (Cate Blanchett).

Add into the mix Robert’s sister Mabel who is in love with Goring, but refuses to fully admit it. The entire film revolves around how each of these people interact and how they come to terms with his or her failings.

Wilde has often toyed with the British upper class, showing them as snobs with no concern for each other or their fellow socialites, yet have so many faults that they are only human after all. It is this that Wilde uses to create some of the most adept and witty comedies.

Everett gives a terrific performance. Goring is one of Wilde’s stereotypical protagonists who uses wit, charm and guile to persuade everyone around him, yet has the most insecurities out of the lot. Moore is delicious in her role as a villainous. The best supporting performance so far this year, Moore could see one of her roles turn into an Oscar nomination and for now, this looks like a good bet.

Blanchett follows up her brilliant performance in last year’s “Elizabeth,” instead taking a more supporting role. She shines equally well wherever she’s placed. Driver is surprisingly good and Northam seems to blend effortlessly into the story like his character should.

The design work is terrific and the writing is nothing short of terrific. Writer-director Oliver Parker does a wonderful job bringing the film to the screen, but needs to prove he can direct as well as he can write and this wasn’t the best example. Indeed, the writing easily upstages everyone except Everett, Moore and Blanchett.

“An Ideal Husband” is one of those rare gems that isn’t seen by as many people as should see it. It appeals to many different kinds of people and while it is a romantic satire, men will find something to enjoy even if it is just in the script.