After watching Wilde's film version of An Ideal Husband (1999), I was surprised at how relatable it was to today's society. A romantic and sentimental comedy, the film is set in the 19th century, with Jeremey Northam playing the role of charming Sir Robert Chiltern--a man that all women would fawn over to be with-- who represents wealth and power. Sir Chiltern's wife, played by Cate Blanchett, adores her husband and has always held him up to high standards for his constantly gentleman-like ways. Rupert Everett stars as Sir Chiltern's faithful best friend, Lord Goring, a man who is most content to remain in his bachelor ways and not let any woman have influence over him. That is until, Chiltern's younger sister, Mabel, enters the scene. Simply put (and not giving away an spoilers in the process), the entire plot is created over an absyss of misunderstandings. The one question that the movie boils down to is: Would a man marry a woman he did not love simply to protect a friend, or keep a
confidence? Maybe the answer would be a more resounding yes for the audience's of Wilde's time, but in today's society?...I don't think so. It is likely that none of us today have ever been--or will ever be--put in that position. But if we were, well, it's not like divorce is a frowned upon thing these days anyway. So how is this move representative of today's society? Why would filmmakers want to adapt Wilde's play to a film version in 1999 when the setting takes place during the 19th century?
An Ideal Husband resembles today's society if you look more closely at a number of characters. Take Blanchett's character, for example. She is a woman who holds her husband in high esteem and loves him for his upright character, and because of this, she considers him an ideal husband. Women out there today, do we not look for a male companion who is a gentleman to us, who has strong values that he clearly believes in, and who we know we can depend upon to be our husband if we so choose to become married to him? The answer to each of those qualities should be 'YES!' We do not look for someone who lacks integrity or makes poor judgments, and if we did, well, that just wouldn't make sense. Now look at Mabel's (Minnie Driver) character. She instantly falls in love (you have to love the movies, right?) with Lord Goring, the self-proclaimed bachelor, who in turn, eventually falls in love with her. I know this film was set in the 19th century, but I think most of us today would agree that this still happens today, and when I say "this", I mean men completely doing a 180 and going after a woman even when they claim they 'don't need a woman to make them happy.' Also, I think the situation of instantly being infatuated with someone happens today too. Maybe not instantly falling in love, but there's certainly those feelings of butterflies and instant attraction that occur today, just like in Wilde's film adaption of his play.
Overall, I think Wilde, through his his comical ways, depicted the important, ever-present issues of love and deception, but with that comes unselfish love and forgiveness.
