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The Happy Prince (2018 film)

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The Happy Prince
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRupert Everett
Written byRupert Everett
Produced by
  • Sébastien Delloye
  • Philipp Kreuzer
  • Jörg Schulze
Starring
CinematographyJohn Conroy
Edited byNicolas Gaster
Music byGabriel Yared
Production
companies
  • BBC Films
  • Lions Gate UK
  • Movie Management Corporation
  • Daryl Prince Productions
  • Casa Kafka Pictures
  • Belgian Tax Shelter
  • Belfius Zielke Strat Et Go International
  • Raindog Films
  • Maze Pictures
  • Entre Chien et Loup
  • Palomar
  • Cine Plus Filmproduktion
  • Tele München Group
  • Proximus Films
  • RTBF (Television Belge)
  • Concorde Filmverleih
  • FFF Bayern
  • Deutscher Filmförderfonds
  • Eurimages
  • Wallimage
  • Wallonie-Bruxells Federation
  • Screen Brussels
  • Mibact Direzione Generale Cinema
  • Beta Cinema
Distributed by
  • Concorde Filmverleih (Austria and Germany)
  • September Film Distribution (Belgium and Netherlands)[1]
  • Vision Distribution (Italy)[1]
  • Lions Gate UK (United Kingdom and Ireland)
Release dates
  • 21 January 2018 (2018-01-21) (Sundance)
  • 12 April 2018 (2018-04-12) (Italy)
  • 15 June 2018 (2018-06-15) (United Kingdom)
Running time
105 minutes
Countries
  • Germany
  • Belgium
  • Italy
  • United Kingdom
LanguagesEnglish, French, Italian
Box office$2.2 million[2]

The Happy Prince is a 2018 biographical drama film about Oscar Wilde, written and directed by Rupert Everett in his directorial debut.[3] The film stars Everett, Colin Firth, Colin Morgan, Emily Watson, Edwin Thomas and Tom Wilkinson. It premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival,[4] and was shown at the 2018 BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival.[5] At the 9th Magritte Awards, it received a nomination in the category of Best Foreign Film.[6]

The film's title alludes to the children's story by Oscar Wilde, The Happy Prince and Other Tales, which Wilde would read aloud to his children.[3] The film was released in Italy on 12 April 2018, in the United Kingdom on 15 June 2018 and in the United States on 10 October 2018 to positive reviews from critics.[7]

Plot

[edit]

1897. Oscar Wilde has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for gross indecency. Separated from his wife and children, he arrives in Dieppe, where old friends Reggie Turner and Robert Ross await him. Wilde assumes the alias of Sebastian Melmoth and tries to rebuild his life: he vainly writes to his wife Constance Lloyd to try to make peace with her. He is recognised by some young Englishmen, who taunt him and pursue him into a church; he defends himself violently, then receives severe warnings from the police.

Oscar then reunites with his old lover Bosie Douglas, angering Robbie, whose secret love for him has never been reciprocated. Oscar and Bosie flee together to Naples, where they live for some time in a house in Posillipo, leading a libertine life. Soon Bosie's mother ceases to send her son his allowance – she is willing to resume payments and give a £200 payoff to Oscar if the two lovers separate. Despite Oscar's anger, they give in and separate. Shortly afterwards Constance, who had forbidden Oscar any contact with Bosie, dies from complications following surgery, and Oscar is denied any contact with their two children.

Now incapable of writing, Oscar takes refuge in Paris, where he lives off his wits and the charity of his old supporters. He meets Reggie and Robbie again and shortly thereafter he finds Bosie, who recently received a large inheritance on the death of his father; Bosie angrily refuses to help him. Meanwhile, the writer begins to show strange symptoms that he attributes to mussel poisoning, suspecting however that it may be syphilis. He meets two poor brothers with whom he shares misery: the elder becomes his favourite, while the younger wants to hear the fairy tale The Happy Prince, which the writer always told his children.

Oscar's illness worsens and he receives a painful surgical operation to treat an abscess in his ear. His precarious physical state causes post-operative infections. With his last strength Oscar asks for an extreme Catholic unction, only to die surrounded by the few friends he has left. At the funeral Robbie complains to Bosie that he was a hypocrite, because he mourns the death of the man who had always loved him and whom he had abandoned without showing any gratitude. Bosie replies that these words are dictated by jealousy, and that only he will be remembered alongside Oscar Wilde, while Robbie will be forgotten.

The film's closing headlines state that Bosie died alone and penniless in 1945, while Robbie, who died in 1918, was buried in Oscar's own grave. Oscar was pardoned in 2017 together with other people convicted of homosexual offences.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

Principal photography on the film began in mid-September 2016 in Bavaria, Germany. Filming was also done in France, Belgium and Italy.[8] BBC Films and Lionsgate UK were some of the co-producers of the film, with the latter also handling UK distribution.[8][10] Everett's third autobiographical book To the End of the World - Travels with Oscar Wilde (2020) consists in large part of reflections on the preparation and production of this film, recounting many difficulties which occurred.[11] Due to budgetary problems, Firth agreed to forego his fee.[11]

Reception

[edit]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 72% based on 139 reviews, and an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A passion project for writer, director, and star Rupert Everett, The Happy Prince pays effective tribute to Oscar Wilde with a poignant look at his tragic final days."[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13]

The BBC's Alan Yentob produced a TV documentary of the story of Everett's long journey in obtaining funding and support for the film.[14] The documentary took some five years to make, and was completed in 2018, after the film's premiere.

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2018 Bavarian Film Awards Best Production Jörg Schulze, Philipp Kreuzer Won [15]
Berlin International Film Festival Best Feature Film Rupert Everett Nominated [16]
British Independent Film Awards Best Actor Nominated [17]
Camerimage Best Directorial Debut Nominated [18]
European Film Awards European Actor Nominated [19]
German Film Awards Best Costume Design Maurizio Millenotti, Giovanni Casalnuovo Nominated
Premio Berenice Best Costumes in Film Won [20]
Seville European Film Festival Actor Rupert Everett Nominated
2019 Dorian Awards Unsung Film of the Year The Happy Prince Nominated [21]
Magritte Awards Best Foreign Film in Co-Production Sébastien Delloye, Entre Chien et Loup Nominated [22]
Motion Picture Sound Editors Awards Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing François Dumont, Jérémy Hassid, Antony Gray, Gervaise Demeure, Jeroen Truijens, Vincent Maloumian Nominated [23]
Satellite Awards Best First Feature Rupert Everett Won [24]
London Critics Circle Film Awards British/Irish Actor of the Year Won [25]
Film of the Year The Happy Prince Nominated
Actor of the Year Rupert Everett Nominated
British/Irish Film of the Year The Happy Prince Nominated
Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker of the Year Rupert Everett Nominated

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Film #77710: The Happy Prince". Lumiere. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  2. ^ "The Happy Prince". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  3. ^ a b Thorpe, Vanessa (10 June 2018). "The importance of being Oscar: how Rupert Everett found a cause". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  4. ^ Debruge, Peter (29 November 2017). "Sundance Film Festival Unveils Full 2018 Features Lineup". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  5. ^ "The Happy Prince". BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2018. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 29 March 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  6. ^ Roxborough, Scott (14 January 2019). "'Girl,' 'Above the Law' Lead Belgium Film Award Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  7. ^ "The Happy Prince". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Grater, Tom (22 September 2016). "Rupert Everett, Colin Firth begin filming Oscar Wilde biopic". Screen Daily. Screen International. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Colin Morgan". United Agents. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  10. ^ Barraclough, Leo (18 May 2014). "CANNES: BBC Films, Lionsgate U.K. Board Rupert Everett's 'The Happy Prince'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  11. ^ a b Steele, Colin (21 November 2020). "On the secrets of stardom and fandom". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  12. ^ "The Happy Prince (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  13. ^ "The Happy Prince Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  14. ^ "Imagine… Rupert Everett: Born To Be Wilde". BBC. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  15. ^ Roxborough, Scott (21 January 2018). "Diane Kruger, Fatih Akin Win Bavarian Film Awards for 'In the Fade'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  16. ^ "The Happy Prince - Berlinale Special Gala 2018". www.berlinale.de. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Winners & Nominations 2018". British Independent Film Awards. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Directors' Debuts Competition 2018 Line-Up! – EnergaCAMERIMAGE 2023". camerimage.pl. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  19. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (10 November 2018). "European Film Awards Nominations: 'Cold War', 'Dogman', 'Border' Lead – Full List". Deadline. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  20. ^ "LA CHIOMA DI BERENICE 2018 - Le nomination". CinemaItaliano.info (in Italian). Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  21. ^ Kilday, Gregg (8 January 2019). "Dorian Awards: 'The Favourite' Named Film of the Year". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  22. ^ Roxborough, Scott (14 January 2019). "'Girl,' 'Above the Law' Lead Belgium Film Award Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  23. ^ Pedersen, Erik (18 January 2019). "Motion Picture Sound Editors Reveal 2019 Golden Reel Nominations". Deadline. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  24. ^ "2018 Winners". International Press Academy. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  25. ^ Cline, Rich (20 January 2019). "London Critics Name Roma as Film of the Year". The Critics' Circle. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
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