| RATING: | 80% |
| FORMAT: | Cinema |
Witty look at sexual relations among the monied classes whose only real flaw is a certain inability to match its superficial style with its substance.
The gossipy females in abundance here are simply jealous that their lives are somewhat less interesting than the lives of those they so fervently gossip about. This leads to the central conflict between those who take people as they find them and those who see others only through hearsay; thus refusing to use their own independent judgment.
Helen HUNT is quite brilliant as the kept woman and makes of Tom WILKINSON an ideal companion. She dominates proceedings as the independent woman who readily fascinates men and is thus able to make the best of herself in a world with few choices for clever women.
Ultimately, this movie is about forgiveness of sins: ‘Every saint has a past; every sinner a future.’ It is also a quiet and unassuming disquisition on living without regret - by taking personal responsibility for one’s actions – and the personal integrity that can come from realizing that no one is perfect, nor is required to be.
Oscar Wilde’s limited sexual wit is not as profound as a Carry On film, but his wordplay is certainly cleverer formalistically: It is just as funny and just as woman centered.
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