An Ideal Husband

 

 

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Have you ever looked at a person who seems to be perfect in every way, and thought to yourself, "No one is perfect. They must have done something wrong, sometime."

And the dark secrets of a seemingly perfect man are at the heart of "An Ideal Husband," a powerful and witty adaptation of Oscar Wilde's classic play. It's not entirely faithful to the play, but it rests on Wilde's brilliant writing and a quartet of formidable actors (although Minnie Driver's character seems... almost unnecessary).

Sir Robert Chiltern (Jeremy Northam) seems to have it all -- a flourishing career in Parliament, his beautiful and perfect wife Lady Gertrude (Cate Blanchett), and the universal respect given to a man with a perfect reputation. He has a vivacious sister (Minnie Driver) and is pals with a charming, womanizing, ironic and very bored playboy, Lord Goring (Rupert Everett).

But when a certain Mrs. Cheveley (Julianne Moore) arrives from Vienna, things take a sudden turn for the worst. She has Robert's dirty little secret, a financial scam from years ago. She'll give him the proof of his misdeed, but only if he sacrifices his principles and supports the Suez Canal motion. Otherwise, she'll make the letter public and wreck his marriage and his career. It's up to Lord Goring to get his pal out of trouble...

"An Ideal Husband" is an enjoyable and witty play, with a plot that twists right up to the final scenes and a genuinely romantic subplot -- the only downside is the exclusion of one subplot from the original play The study of morality, payback for one's sins, the power of words and the need for forgiveness is much more interesting than the typical period-dress drama.

And the movie flows along well, with a brisk pace and plenty of emotionally charged scenes, although one early scene where Everett strings together and rattles off a bunch of Wildean witticisms feels like they were informing us "See? This is a witty, ironic movie!" But the rough spots are soon smoothed out in an elegant barrage of exquisite costumes, sleek dialogue, and some clever in-jokes (Robert and Gertrude go to watch "The Importance of Being Earnest").

But the strongest part of the movie is the central quartet of actors: Northam gives a powerful performance as a man torn between self-preservation and honesty, while Blanchett is enchanting as a woman whose love for her husband is disrupted by her excessively high standards. Moore is brilliantly slimy, charming and sexual, and she has great chemistry with Everett's lazy, witty playboy-with-a-heart-of-gold.

The one downside is Minnie Driver, who gives a strangely twitchy performance. Her character is meant to be a love interest for Everett, but since he has zero chemistry with her (and plenty with Northam and Moore), she feels... unnecessary.

"An Ideal Husband" is a cool, elegant little period piece, with a powerful underlying message about facing up to your past sins. And the best part is the four lead actors.

I bought this for my mom's birthday because she loves it. We watched it together and I loved it too. It's got it all: beauty, intelligence, romance, wit. Enjoy!

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