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An Ideal Husband film review
AN IDEAL HUSBAND
Running time: 100 mins
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Rupert Everett, Jeremy Northam, Julianne Moore
It is becoming increasingly apparent that given a few spicy one-liners, and the notion of marriage to visibly abhor, Rupert Everett will absolutely steal the show.
As Lord Arthur Goring, he's famed throughout 1890s London high society for his wry wit, dapper dressing and rather dashing misbehaviour - a man commanding widespread female desire and a must-have presence at any party worth attending.
His is a life of laughter, roguish manoeuvring and frequent, catastrophic hangovers, much to the disgust of his father Lord Caversham (John Wood), who regularly berates his son for eluding the countless opportunities to wed and become a decent, respectable man - like Sir Robert Chiltern (Jeremy Northam), for instance, respected politician and Goring's best friend.
Happily married to Lady Gertrude (Cate Blanchett), Robert is the perfect gent, and his sister Mabel (Minnie Driver) is determined to reform Goring's character by seducing him down the aisle.
Their happy, decadent and luxurious lifestyle is a dramatically shaken, however, by the arrival of the mysterious Mrs Cheveley (Julianne Moore), who evidently shares history with more than one of this group.
Having invested heavily in the Argentinean canal scheme, she presses Robert to change the damning Commons report he is due to deliver.
Refusing on grounds of integrity and honour, Robert is staggered to discover Mrs Cheveley's blackmail lever: a letter proving Robert sold a State secret years ago to get a vital leg up both financially and politically.
Should the details of the letter get out, his career would be ruined and his marriage put under severe strain, so he turns to Goring for help and advice. But events are now moving at a pace which may overtake them both.
Written a century ago, it is perhaps remarkable (or possibly not) that the themes of ambiguous morality and political scandal remain so pertinent, but it's what makes this slightly lesser-known Oscar Wilde work seem so fresh.
And thankfully, the quality of material is done appropriate justice not just by the actors, but by director Oliver Parker's production, which - unusually for a Brit flick - has secured a budget of some £12m, and so can splash on costumes, sets and locations accordingly.
But however fabulous it rightly looks, Wilde requires top-notch delivery, and in Everett - into whose character Wilde essentially distils himself - we have a unrivalled treat. The trick, as far as Everett is concerned, is 'making the lines sound like you've just thought of them,' and it's one he pulls off time and again.
The ensemble cast fills out with national variety but uniform quality: Northam, a handsome and beleaguered Chiltern; Blanchett - outrageously robbed at the Oscars and justifiably recognised by the BAFTAs - a controlled Lady Gertrude; Moore, a deliciously scheming Mrs Cheveley; and Driver, a flighty, boisterous Mabel.
Consistently funny without ever being smug at its own wittiness, this is recommended particularly to those put off by the idea of Oscar Wilde, as the perfect cure for misguided preconceptions.
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