Synopsis

Famed for his witty insights into the human condition and reviled for his sexuality, playwright and author Oscar Wilde was indeed a notorious figure in Victorian London. Featuring British comedian Stephen Fry in the title role, this brassy, exceptionally wrought biopic chronicles Wilde's triumphant rise and tragic fall in London society. Unlike earlier versions of the film The Trials of Oscar Wilde and Oscar Wilde(both 1960), this version offers a more explicit look at Wilde's homosexual antics. The story begins in 1882 with Wilde giving a lecture to a group of burly young miners as part of a North American tour. Upon his return to England, Wilde, who though already plagued with homosexual yearnings has been unable to accept them, marries Constance (Jennifer Ehle) and with her has two sons. But Wilde's carefully constructed life of domestic bliss crumbles when randy Robbie Ross (Michael Sheen) arrives on the scene. A Canadian who does not conceal his sexual preference to Wilde, he proves to be the key to the playwright's undoing. Soon he gains the surreptitious reputation as a man-about-town and as his career begins to soar, so does the gossip. Despite being grist for London's rumor mill, Wilde is backed by his feisty Irish mother (Vanessa Redgrave) and his good friend Ada (Zoe Wanamaker). With their support and his own rapier wit and charm, Wilde rises above the scandal and still manages a decadent lifestyle until he meets and falls in love with Lord Alfred Douglas (Douglas Law). Called Bosie by his friends, the son of the militantly anti-homosexual Marquess of Queensberry (Tom Wilkinson), was the man who will eventually bring about Wilde's final downfall.

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