(2002)
The Importance of Being Earnest
is Oscar Wilde's most essential work. In it, the subversive scenarist distills his singular wit toward his recurring themes of scoffing at mundane behavior and morality and celebrating high speech and life.
Oliver Parker
's new
Determined
adaptation boasts a cloudless cast capable of delivering the author's flamboyant epigrams, despite everything impartial they falter out of sight the director's chaotic vision.
Things are complicated enough for the two dandies in such a devious scenario, but when Jack falls in love with Moncrieff's cousin Gwendolen (
Frances O'Connor
) while using his "Earnest" alias, the danger of their being found out grows even closer. Mischievously adding fuel to the proverbial fire, Algy dashes off to the Worthing home, where he introduces himself as the errant "Earnest," becomes infatuated with Cecily, and proposes marriage to the equally love-struck girl. When Gwen arrives seeking her fiancé and finds another woman engaged to "Earnest," jealousy abounds, as both women have their hearts set upon marrying a man with such an honorable name. Of course, both men are ? and are not ? named Earnest, which results in much confusion, absurdity, and, eventually, happiness for all.
Performing Wilde's play requires a colorful and precise delivery, here exemplified by Everett in the more outrageous role and the underrated Firth as the comparatively reserved Worthing. As Cecily's guardian, Augusta, Dame Dench recalls her regal portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in
Shakespeare in Love
and appears the picture of maternal perspicacity. Serving up the play's most hilarious and lengthy pronouncements ? "I have always been of the opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing." ? the stoic Dench can't help but steal every moment that she appears on-screen.
Yet these performances ultimately get lost amid the clutter of Parker's direction. Most notably, he embellishes the role of Cecily by adding comedic fantasy sequences pairing her with Everett in knight-in-shining-armor scenarios. Additional scenes depicting past occurrences fit more neatly into the plot, but the overall effect of all of these visual bells and whistles is that they drown out the dialogue.
Not that all of Wilde's droll, cleverly twisted language is emphasized in the first place, as Parker elicits staid portrayals from most of the actors. O'Connor is not displeasing as Gwendolen, but few of her utterances have any impact. Her most priceless line, "I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train," just rolls by in a prim parade of monotony. Witherspoon is delightfully perky, but Cecily's daydreams and the actress' front-and-center image on the movie poster confirm a disproportionate emphasis on the quartet's most simplistic character. Everett seems curiously overblown in this grouping ? an attribute that would typically be the norm, given the character and Wilde's literary style. For a more unified and vibrant treatment of
Earnest
,
Anthony Asquith
's
1952 classic
is coming to DVD in June, as part of the Criterion Collection, and less than the price of a couple's night out at the movies.
Ironically, though Parker attempts to expand the play by adding visual elements, the cinematography itself, by Tony Pierce-Roberts (who did lovely work on the Henry James adaptation
The Golden Bowl
) is shockingly poor. For an adaptation of such light emotional atmosphere, the prevalent cinematic tone is overwhelmingly dark and diffuse. The shadows have no depth whatsoever, appearing almost universally black, and the midtones are drab and utterly lifeless. One would think Parker were helming
The House of Mirth
, or some equally tragic Edith Wharton chronicle. And though weather is certainly out of the director's hands, most of the outdoor scenes appear to have been filmed on cloudy days, yet they inexplicably flick into sunlight at times, in moments of obvious discontinuity.
By revisiting Wilde, Parker is attempting to appeal to audiences enamored of finely honed, ensemble-based wit like
Gosford Park
and
The Cat's Meow
. To that end,
Earnest
is a perfect selection, as the author subtitled his play "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People." Unfortunately, this production is nothing more than that.
? MARY KALIN-CASEY