The Not-So-Happy Prince
Well I finally got round to watching Ruper Everett's 'The Happy Prince'! I'd read some mixed reviews, so didn't set my expectations too high - but I must say I really enjoyed it.
It tackles the final three years of Oscar Wilde's life, spent in exile in France following his release from prison in May 1897 (events leading up to his disgrace and imprisonment are seen in flashback). As loyal friends Robbie Ross and Reggie Turner attempt to support him in exile, exhorting him to at least try and live within his greatly reduced means and shielding him from the snubs and humiliations dished out by fellow expatriates, Oscar drifts helplessly and self-destructively back into the toxic embrace of Bosie Douglas, and thence to recriminations, rent boys, near-destitution and early death (in 1900, at the age of forty-six). Wilde's short story The Happy Prince, whose tragic hero's charmed life is broken in upon by the realities of sorrow, poverty and suffering, is interwoven into the narrative as Oscar retells it, firstly to his sons Cyril and Vyvyan in flashback, and then to the young brother of a Parisian rent boy whom he befriends.
Rupert Everett is a very convincing Oscar, Colin Morgan a suitably pretty, spoilt and vindictive Bosie, Edwin Thomas a loyal and patient Robbie Ross and Colin Firth a long-suffering Reggie Turner. But the character I was most interested in was, of course, Oscar's estranged wife Constance, who also lived in exile on the Continent until her early death in 1898. Emily Watson has only a few short scenes in which to perfect her portrayal, but gives a moving and convincing performance; her Constance is both dignified and stoical, crippled by back pain and walking with sticks, torn between her love for the husband who has brought ruin upon his family and a steely determination to protect her sons from the fallout of their father's disgrace. She is shown in conversation with the legal advisers who repeatedly tried to persuade her to divorce her errant husband; planning to travel to Genoa for an operation to relieve her pain; and visiting Oscar in a dream at the time of her death. It's obviously a simplified snapshot of the long and tortuous three years during which Constance, having adopted the family name of Holland, stayed firstly with her brother Otho in Bevaix, then at a pension in Heidleberg, then in a friend's villa at Nervi on the Italian Riviera while her traumatised sons failed to settle at a series of different schools. Her letters show that her feelings towards Oscar fluctuated wildly during those years, veering from disgust and recrimination to care and compassion. She steadfastly resisted family pressure to divorce him, even when at her most angry and conficted. Her death at the age of forty following a botched operation by gynaecologist Dr Luigi Maria Bossi was tragic – Dr Bossi's theory that all women's health issues were gynaecological in origin led him to perform a completely unnecessary procedure upon her. Her brother Otho tried to take legal action against him after her death but was dissuaded on the grounds that she had freely consented to undergo the procedure.
In 'The Happy Prince' Rupert Everett employs Richard Ellmann's theory that both Constance's and Oscar's early deaths were caused by syphilis, passed from him to her at some point in their marriage; it's used to dramatic effect, but this is not what the medical profession now believes. Oscar died from meningitis resulting from a severe ear infection, and Constance's intermittent pain and partial paralysis were symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, a recognised but little understood condition in the late 19th century.
I do think one reason The Happy Prince has failed to ignite enthusiasm amongst a wider audience is its reliance upon the viewer having some prior acquaintance with Oscar Wilde's story. I can see that someone who comes to the film completely ignorant about its hero's rise and fall would find it disjointed and confusing. But I myself was impressed, moved and entertained, and it's inspired me to crack on and get Constance's side of the story out there. Hopefully the new edition of The Coward Does it with a Kiss will be available in time for the 121st anniversary of her death, on 7th April 2019!
It tackles the final three years of Oscar Wilde's life, spent in exile in France following his release from prison in May 1897 (events leading up to his disgrace and imprisonment are seen in flashback). As loyal friends Robbie Ross and Reggie Turner attempt to support him in exile, exhorting him to at least try and live within his greatly reduced means and shielding him from the snubs and humiliations dished out by fellow expatriates, Oscar drifts helplessly and self-destructively back into the toxic embrace of Bosie Douglas, and thence to recriminations, rent boys, near-destitution and early death (in 1900, at the age of forty-six). Wilde's short story The Happy Prince, whose tragic hero's charmed life is broken in upon by the realities of sorrow, poverty and suffering, is interwoven into the narrative as Oscar retells it, firstly to his sons Cyril and Vyvyan in flashback, and then to the young brother of a Parisian rent boy whom he befriends.
Rupert Everett is a very convincing Oscar, Colin Morgan a suitably pretty, spoilt and vindictive Bosie, Edwin Thomas a loyal and patient Robbie Ross and Colin Firth a long-suffering Reggie Turner. But the character I was most interested in was, of course, Oscar's estranged wife Constance, who also lived in exile on the Continent until her early death in 1898. Emily Watson has only a few short scenes in which to perfect her portrayal, but gives a moving and convincing performance; her Constance is both dignified and stoical, crippled by back pain and walking with sticks, torn between her love for the husband who has brought ruin upon his family and a steely determination to protect her sons from the fallout of their father's disgrace. She is shown in conversation with the legal advisers who repeatedly tried to persuade her to divorce her errant husband; planning to travel to Genoa for an operation to relieve her pain; and visiting Oscar in a dream at the time of her death. It's obviously a simplified snapshot of the long and tortuous three years during which Constance, having adopted the family name of Holland, stayed firstly with her brother Otho in Bevaix, then at a pension in Heidleberg, then in a friend's villa at Nervi on the Italian Riviera while her traumatised sons failed to settle at a series of different schools. Her letters show that her feelings towards Oscar fluctuated wildly during those years, veering from disgust and recrimination to care and compassion. She steadfastly resisted family pressure to divorce him, even when at her most angry and conficted. Her death at the age of forty following a botched operation by gynaecologist Dr Luigi Maria Bossi was tragic – Dr Bossi's theory that all women's health issues were gynaecological in origin led him to perform a completely unnecessary procedure upon her. Her brother Otho tried to take legal action against him after her death but was dissuaded on the grounds that she had freely consented to undergo the procedure.
In 'The Happy Prince' Rupert Everett employs Richard Ellmann's theory that both Constance's and Oscar's early deaths were caused by syphilis, passed from him to her at some point in their marriage; it's used to dramatic effect, but this is not what the medical profession now believes. Oscar died from meningitis resulting from a severe ear infection, and Constance's intermittent pain and partial paralysis were symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, a recognised but little understood condition in the late 19th century.
I do think one reason The Happy Prince has failed to ignite enthusiasm amongst a wider audience is its reliance upon the viewer having some prior acquaintance with Oscar Wilde's story. I can see that someone who comes to the film completely ignorant about its hero's rise and fall would find it disjointed and confusing. But I myself was impressed, moved and entertained, and it's inspired me to crack on and get Constance's side of the story out there. Hopefully the new edition of The Coward Does it with a Kiss will be available in time for the 121st anniversary of her death, on 7th April 2019!
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Charlie
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Jan 20, 2019 09:55AM
H'mm, this sounds interesting. I'll give it a watch!
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Charlie wrote: "H'mm, this sounds interesting. I'll give it a watch!"Yes do, you'll enjoy it!
