{"id":6272,"date":"2018-10-28T11:58:48","date_gmt":"2018-10-28T18:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=6272"},"modified":"2018-11-30T08:43:24","modified_gmt":"2018-11-30T15:43:24","slug":"review-the-happy-prince","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=6272","title":{"rendered":"Review: THE HAPPY PRINCE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rupert Everett writes, directs and stars in this downbeat chronicle of the last days of Oscar Wilde.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"\"\"\u201cThe Happy Prince\u201d is an ironic title for one of the most sour films I\u2019ve seen in some time. Almost entirely devoid of any joy, Rupert Everett\u2019s portrayal of the famous Irish poet and playwright is remarkably sad and tough to watch. The story picks up following Wilde\u2019s release from prison in 1897. In England, he had been convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years of hard labor. The years of imprisonment took its toll on the proud writer, who fled to Paris thereafter.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In the film, we meet Wilde already in France, where he lives hand-to-mouth. Penniless and pathetic, he fights with his sexual identity, professing that he\u2019s found Jesus and will return to his wife and children. But the bridges have been burned. Few of his old friends and benefactors will help him, and his wife, Constance (Emily Watson), is conflicted, likely to move on without him.<\/p>\n

Everett is very committed to the role, playing Wilde in various time periods. While in Paris, the great writer is depicted often as a frail man, whose life experiences have aged him far beyond his actual years. This is understandable, but the character lacks charisma and isn\u2019t engaging. It\u2019s a pity, this is not the Wilde we know from better films like 1997\u2019s \u201cWilde.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For a movie about a famous author, \u201cThe Happy Prince\u201d doesn\u2019t give us much about the man\u2019s craft. This might be the most intriguing thing about his last days\u2014why he\u2019d lost the ability to write. He apparently wrote long letters from prison and poetry in Paris, but Everett concentrates on drinking, sex, and Wilde’s constant groveling for money. It\u2019s just plain off-putting. Perhaps, this focus does shed some light on the writer\u2019s block that Wilde may have been experiencing, but it doesn\u2019t play very well on screen.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The attractive cast is impressive. Colin Firth appears as Wilde\u2019s good friend Reggie Turner, and late in the film Tom Wilkinson plays a priest. It\u2019s all very well-produced, but ultimately, \u201cThe Happy Prince\u201d is a frustrating movie that gives us a feel for a decaying personality. But targeting the decline doesn\u2019t translate into great cinema.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rupert Everett’s portrayal of Oscar Wilde is likely true but, also, unpleasant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6272"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6470,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6272\/revisions\/6470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}