The drama An Ideal Husband, written in 1895, stands as yet another example of Wilde's critical view of late Victorian society. While presenting the agony that Robert Chiltern, a highly esteemed politician, goes through after Mrs Cheveley suddenly threatens to reveal the secret of the real origin of his wealth and influence, the play guides us through the usual set of characters in Wilde's socially critical comedies, and entertains us with witty remarks and straightforward wording of common (and sometimes uncommon) philosophy.
The film, made in 1999, follows the plot of the drama with only a few differences, and it opens the line of Wilde-based motion pictures directed by Oliver Parker; a line including The Importance of Being Earnest in 2002, and Dorian Gray in 2009.
Plot and Characters
The film presents the same main characters as the play. The way in which those characters come to life, however, shows some alteration, which partly results from making use of the opportunities offered by film as a genre, and partly suggests aspects of the filmmakers' own view of the subject.
The action of the play takes place within 24 hours, with three acts set in the Chiltern residence, and one in Lord Goring's house. In the film, the same scenes occur in various venues, ranging from carriages and public parks in London to theater and the House of Commons, and the time frame stretches somewhat further as well.
The character of Lady Gertrude Chiltern fails to fully cover the image of purity, noble naïvety combined with strength that we can find in the play. The film's Lady Chiltern actually shows up on Goring's doorstep as she announced in her letter. She does not do this in the play. A sign of weakness, which does not entail any significant change to the plot, but which certainly paints a different image of her ladyship. Similarly, the scene in which Gertrude and Miss Mabel (Chiltern's sister) pose in an art studio, dressed up as soldiers, while chatting away until they get chided for doing so, seems something that the Lady Gertrude we meet in the play would never do. Toward the end of the story, she is also an accomplice to a small lie told by Lord Goring to Sir Robert - as opposed to her role in the play, in which they merely fail to clarify to Robert that he has made a confusion about the letter written by Gertrude, addressed to Goring. In the film, Robert does not make a confusion, so the two lie to him about the facts - another stain on Lady Gertrude's purity.
Mrs Cheveley's figure shows some difference as well. The issue of the lost - and as we later find out, stolen - diamond brooch is completely absent from the film. Mrs Chevely thus retains her image of a devious, but respected woman, and doesn't turn into the monstrous, beastly character that Wilde revealed her to be.
Added Scenes, Characters, References
Extra characters have been added, the most important of which being a certain Sir Edward, a newspaper editor. His presence helps Mrs Cheveley's case by providing the perfect means for her to accomplish her threat, if she decided to, and that is by public exposure of the scandal in the newspaper. As added characters result in added scenes, we can observe Sir Robert and Sir Edward having a conversation with the occasion of a fencing practice. This is a rather minor added scene, of little importance. Perhaps the pressure presented by the press is an element which brings the action closer to our days and the viewers can feel Chiltern's distress more deeply.
Some of the other added scenes, however, bring actual elements of the world of Wilde's plays and characters. Notably, the instance when we find Lord Goring at the Men's Club, sitting at a table playing cards with three gentlemen, one of whom is called Bunbury, the made-up friend of Algernon from The Importance of Being Earnest (which has a film version made by the same crew and Algernon is played by Rupert Everett, the same actor who performs Goring's role in An Ideal Husband). In this part - of a few seconds and a few words - we can see Oliver Parker, the director and scriptwriter himself. But a much more specific reference to The Importance of Being Earnest emerges in this film. The conversation which takes place at the Chiltern home between Sir Robert and his wife Gertrude in the original play, is now set in a theater, where the characters watch a staging of The Importance of Being Earnest. At the end of the play, a speaker addresses the audience in the way that Oscar Wilde is said to have addressed the spectators after the premieres of his plays. References to another play appear when the guests attending Chiltern's ball are announced: Lord Windermere, Duke and Duchess of Berwick remind us of the characters from Lady Windermere's Fan.
We can also assume that the green carnation worn as a buttonhole by Lord Goring refers to Wilde's and his circle of friends' habit of wearing such flowers, allegedly as a sign of their sexual orientation.
Comparison to Other Wilde-based Films
Even though a fair number of big names have taken their share of putting this film together, it seems to be less successful and not half as well made as The Importance of Being Earnest. Rupert Everett puts on a wonderful performance of "the idlest man in London" in both productions, but Minnie Driver doesn't appear to be silly enough to play Mabel Chiltern, and Julianne Moore fails to emanate the deep wickedness of her character. Some of the modifications made to the original play either diminish the strength of the story or just simply fail to make sense.
An Ideal Husband still qualifies as a playful, light and enjoyable film version of the play, but it seems to have lost itself somewhere halfway between clinging closely to the original text and plot (as The Importance did, successfully) and reinterpretation of the story in a different setting (as the film A Good Woman, based on Lady Windermere's Fan managed to pull off quite impressively).
Noemi Csiki - Noemi Csiki teaches English and writes non-fiction and short fiction. She has experience in proofreading and an interest in language ...
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