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Oscar Wilde’s works have the special ability of being more
substantial than they first appear to be. An Ideal Husband
is no exception. While appearing to be a simple comedy at the
start, the story weaves itself through ideas that enrich the story
significantly.
The core of the story revolves around Sir Robert Chiltern’s
(Jeremy Northam) attempts to cover up a glitch in his apparently
seamless past from his wife Gerturde (Cate Blanchette). Robert
is being blackmailed by his former wife, Laura (Julianne Moore),
who wants him to turn a vote in parliament that will favor an
investment of hers. Entangled in the situation is Lord Arthur
Goring (Rupert Everett), Robert’s friend and Laura’s
former fiancé. And then there’s Mabel (Minnie Driver),
Robert’s younger sister, who walks around acting cute.
The characters are fun and the picture is always bright and warm.
Costumes are nice and the whole environment is appropriate for
a Wilde play. Blanchette and Moore are good, Northam and Everette
successfully fun, and only Driver feels off – though it
seems like more of a director’s fault there.
An Ideal Husband is fairly dry for a while but begins
to pick up as the themes set in. As the title suggests, idealism
in others is frequently the center of attention. The characters
are all quite imperfect themselves, yet insist on the perfection
of others. It’s not simply that they have high standards
for each other; it’s that they’re constantly trying
to remove each other’s motes and ignoring their own beams.
The film tells the story well and really enriches it at points.
One scene, for example, has each of the characters at a play,
looking at each other through their little binoculars, while trying
to appear to be watching the play. Their eyes are always on each
other and we are effectively shown that frequently.
In the end, though, the motes and beams are revealed and reputations
are redeemed. The classic play ends on a high positive note for
all the heroes, both in their individual desires and in their
newly formed characters.
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