Wilde

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Wilde

R

1997

1h 55m

Biography

LGBTQ+

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

72%

Tomatometer

50 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Oscar Wilde (Stephen Fry) is a married writer who has occasionally indulged his weakness for male suitors. After much toil, Wilde debuts a stage comedy in London, and a chat at the theater with Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas (Jude Law) leads to a full-on romance. Wilde ends up in a legal dispute with Lord Alfred's father, the Marquess of Queensberry (Tom Wilkinson) and, given the anti-gay local laws, is sent to jail. Wilde's vast intellect helps him survive until he regains his freedom.

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Critics Consensus

Wilde can't hope to communicate the entirety of its subject's fascinating life or outsize talent, but Stephen Fry's stellar performance offers abundant compensation.

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Derek Elley

Variety

Mar 26, 2009

A tony biopic that manages to combine an upfront portrayal of the scribe's gayness with an often moving examination of his broader emotions and artistic ideals.

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Stephen Garrett

Time Out

Jan 26, 2006

If anybody was born to play Oscar Wilde, it must have been Stephen Fry: not only does he look like the Green Carnation Man, but he himself is often portrayed as being too clever, too complex for his own good.

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Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Feb 14, 2001

4/5

Likely to remain the definitive screen treatment of Oscar Wilde for years to come.

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Philip French

Observer (UK)

Sep 22, 2025

What it does -- through a combination of Julian Mitchell's intelligent, literate script and Stephen Fry's magnificently rounded and wholly convincing performance -- is to produce a remarkable portrait of the man.

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Matthew Sweet

Independent on Sunday

Sep 22, 2025

Although Fry manages to make something of the film's emphasis on Wilde's conventional streak, this seems to be more than his director can manage.

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Stefan Pape

Common Sense Media

Dec 8, 2021

3/5

British actor Fry is such a natural fit as the intelligent, witty dandy, Wilde, that when his casting was secured, the makers of this biopic must have known their work was pretty much done.

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VITALII H

@freakynickison Feb 25, 2026

I decided to watch this movie only because of the gay aspect of it all and had no clue who Oscar Wilde was, well, the more you know… The movie is very worthy although could’ve been executed better. Oscar was so right when he said that this love unfortunately is not to be understood at this time, unless you’re the one to experience it. I was rooting for Robbie, he’s the one who deserves Oscar’s love the most. I predicted that Bosie and Wilde won’t be together for long after the Oscar’s release from prison… Bosie’s realization that the main protagonist left with no penny to his name quickly changed his mind about being in the relationship with him for sure. He was milking his love till the very end from the Oscar, all he wanted was to win him over Robbie. The story is very powerful, the movie itself is decent. The cast was amazing, I really gagged when I saw Orlando Bloom.

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Jose B

@RT36949494 Apr 6, 2025

Nothing new in here but it's a very well crafted film with outstanding performance. Wilde is acted with elegance and "gusto" and Jude Law is the real incarnation of Lord Alfred Douglas,being Mr. Law more handsome than the "fragile" Douglas I saw this film years ago and I remember being slightly disappointed with it but being watched it now on prístine Blu-ray it definitely looks great.. And much better film than Ruppert Everett / The Happy Prince "second installment" on Wilde final days in Paris.

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Georgan G

@RT98616417 Jan 20, 2024

Well-written script, beautiful cinematography, and an amazing performance by Stephen Fry. A sad tale of a genius not accepted during his lifetime. His work lives on, thankfully.

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Timothy D

@RT51227774 Oct 31, 2023

Stephen Fry's preformance is tender and appropriate. The movie itself is stale melancholy.

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Shioka O

@RT54204327 Feb 7, 2023

Stephen Fry is the modern embodiment of Wilde in here. His performance is so good, and the supporting actors, too. but the film is not really mentioned about his creative process, focus is all the relationships. It starts meh and gets better by scenes towards the end.

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jelisije j

@jjosifovic Sep 23, 2021

A straight Biopic of Oscar Wilde.

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Brian Gilbert

Director

Stephen Fry

Oscar Wilde

Jude Law

Lord Alfred `'Bosie'` Douglas

Vanessa Redgrave

Lady Speranza Wilde

Jennifer Ehle

Constance Lloyd Wilde

Gemma Jones

Lady Queensberry

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Synopsis

Oscar Wilde (Stephen Fry) is a married writer who has occasionally indulged his weakness for male suitors. After much toil, Wilde debuts a stage comedy in London, and a chat at the theater with Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas (Jude Law) leads to a full-on romance. Wilde ends up in a legal dispute with Lord Alfred's father, the Marquess of Queensberry (Tom Wilkinson) and, given the anti-gay local laws, is sent to jail. Wilde's vast intellect helps him survive until he regains his freedom.

Director: Brian Gilbert
Producer: Marc Samuelson, Peter Samuelson
Screenwriter: Julian Mitchell, Richard Ellmann
Rating: R
Genre: Biography, LGBTQ+
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.1M
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Surround

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