O Príncipe Feliz

This was an absorbing tale largely because I hadn't a clue about Wilde's last days. The acting was excellent, each actor delivering a completely believable naturalistic turn. Despite the great support acting if the lead, Rupert Everett ( almost unrecognisable) hadn't been so completely absorbing it could have been dire. He was remarkable, managing the multiple tones and moods Wilde goes through. A tale of sadness and joy and redemption. Such an interesting movie.

Oscar Wilde cuts something of a forlorn tragic figure in Rupert Everett's excellent biopic, The Happy Prince.

Personal treatment that Wilde deems to have been hugely unjust has built up much resentment in the heart of this once so carefree flamboyant wordsmith.

Consequently exiled to the shores of France and then further afield, he lives out his final years begging for handouts and favours from those he knows and loves. Those, that is, that haven't turned their back on the now disgraced writer.

Everett's film focuses upon a man whose incarceration and subsequent humiliation on charges of sodomy and gross indecency - following his lewd bordering on nefarious behaviour (in the eyes of the law) - have left him near destitute; a far cry from the opulent lifestyle that once he had led.

The Happy Prince is built loosely around Wilde reciting his fairy tale of the same name to both his own biological sons - during happier married times - and latterly on his death bed to the rag tag 'family' of young urchins that he had befriended.

Wilde - under his newly acquired guise of Melmoth - has a kind of morbidly humorous fascination with both the hopelessness of the predicament in which he now finds himself, and with the plethora of men that continue to fawn over him.

A period piece The Happy Prince may essentially be, but there's a strongly contemporary feel to the film's at times bewitching cinematography, switching neatly and expertly by way of multiple rapid cross fades between Wilde's past and present in an effort to build a picture of - and emphasise the massive disparity between - 'now' and then.

Everett's stupendous performance as Wilde is both arresting and heartfelt, whilst there are meaningful contributions from Colin Firth as Wilde's good friend Reggie, and from Colin Morgan and Edwin Thomas as Bosie and Robbie, respectively, the two mainstays in Wilde's love life who continue to compete fiercely for his attentions, and between whom there is absolutely no love lost.

As for Emily Watson's portrayal of Constance, as solid as it is, one can't help but think that it remains a little peripheral to the film's narrative at times. Perhaps Everett could have made a little more of the clearly strained relationship that had existed between the two, and the impact that this had had upon their children?

It seems that Wilde was indeed harshly dealt with, and laws or no laws, would have had rightful justification to feel aggrieved at his treatment at the hands of the rather puritanical overreaching government of the time.

That said, Everett's film seems intent to paint Wilde not as some sort of saintly martyr, but as a charming but deeply flawed man with a propensity for making poor life decisions. A man who had flown too close to the sun, and who perhaps had been more than a little guilty of using and abusing those that knew and loved him so much for his own personal gain.

The Happy Prince, whilst at times cheeky and playful in its outlook, never strays too far from its melancholic roots in its elegantly crafted, poignant regaling of the final days of the late great Oscar Wilde.

A solid biopic about Oscar Wilde with a terrific Rupert Everett in the leading role. A great transformation not only physically but also his whole mechanisms as an actor are totally redefined. I would not be surprised if his performance as legendary poet and playwright Oscar Wilde will actually get him Oscar attention next year. Its definitely a performance they soak up and adore. The film itself was fine, but nothing to write home about. I had some troubles with Rupert Everett's direction actually. It could have been better set up and the narrative was a bit weird at times. Performance wise it was not only because of Everett's undoubtedly great performance good. Emily Watson shines as his estranged wife but I had hoped she would have more screen time as she really lived that character and although the screen time was limited she really shined in all of her scenes. Colin Firth was good as well and took care about some comedic relief in a at times too dry biopic. The score was good and the cinematography fine - offering a lot of beautiful sceneries. Definitely worth to check out for the performance and if you are a fan of Wilde himself as they depict him and his work and language just well.

Rupert Everett was born to play Oscar Wilde, at least the older Wilde, (Everett is now 59). I'd already seen him play Wilde on stage, magnificently, in David Hare's "The Judas Kiss"; now he has written and directed the film "The Happy Prince" which deals in large part, (it's mostly told in flashback), with the period after his release from Reading Gaol. He, of course, takes on the role of Wilde once again and gives the kind of performance that should get him an Oscar of a different kind.

This is no vanity project but one full of passion and love of his subject. He gives us an Oscar that is vain, glorious and in the throes of the most terrible pain; this is an Oscar warts and all. He dominates every frame of the picture but has also assembled a superb supporting cast. Both Colin Morgan as Bosie and Edwin Thomas as Robbie Ross are splendid but so too are Emily Watson as Constance, Colin Firth as Reggie Turner, John Standing as his doctor and Tom Wilkinson as the priest who gives him the last rites. These may amount to nothing more than cameos but what glorious cameos they are. This is an actor's piece and no mistake.

However, for a work that is primarily literary and for a first-time director Everett also displays a very keen visual eye. This is a handsome period piece but far from a stuffy one. Everett manages to capture the flavour of Oscar's rise and fall beautifully. Here is a film that is heartbreakingly sad and strangely uplifting at the same time, a real testament to Wilde's genius, (it's certainly the best Wilde movie to date), and one of the best LGBT-themed films of recent times. Unmissable.

"The Happy Prince" is an interesting, sad look at the great poet and playwright Oscar Wilde at the end of his life, when he lived in poverty, declined health and social exile in France. The film seems like a labor of love for Rupert Everett, its star and director, but the finished product looks a bit low-budget and claustrophobic. The shaky camera work was distracting at times. Anyone who loves Wilde will appreciate this film's sensitive exploration of his inner thoughts and emotions, and how he suffered after his trial, incarceration and social exclusion for his sexual relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas at a time when sex between two men was illegal in England. Although Wilde is shown here living freely in France, he is separated from his two children and his career has been destroyed, so Everett delves into these painful aspects of the writer's later life, partially through dreamily lit flashbacks. "The Happy Prince" is a touching, rather slow film for Wilde fans, but I prefer Stephen Fry's crackling portrayal in Brian Gilbert's "Wilde" (1997), and that earlier film is better overall, perhaps due to superior direction and production quality.