We find Oscar Wilde at the end of his life living among the demi-monde in Paris. The film gives us an unsentimental look at Wilde’s louche unscrupulousness and his indomitable charm and wit throughout his fame and fall.  The Happy Prince unfolds as an homage to a great man with great flaws.

Rupert Everett writes, directs and stars in this labour of love depicting the final years in exile of Oscar Wilde. Everett has described Wilde as the “patron saint of the gay movement” and its “Christ figure”; and “the prototype of the modern celebrity”. His fascination with Oscar (who he portrayed on stage in David Hare’s The Judas Kiss) began at the age of 6, when his mother read him Wilde’s fairy-tale The Happy Prince (which frames the film’s narrative) at bed-time. It took Everett 10 years to get the film to pre-production, having written the screenplay in 2006. The participation of Colin Firth (with whom Everett starred with in their breakthrough film, Another Country) was vital to securing funding.

“Everett shows a kinship with the role that goes beyond an openly gay actor playing a gay icon. Any struggles that he shows as a first-time director and screenwriter are eclipsed by his deep connection to his subject. This is award-calibre acting.” Peter Traver, Rolling Stone

This was an LGBT History Month screening.