It's here that Fry's perf really kicks in, beyond spouting Wilde's famously witty bon mots. Behind the man's overweening arrogance lies a real sadness that his affection for the kamikaze-like Bosie, prone to childish tantrums and sexual philandering, is to be the vehicle for his eventual downfall. But Wilde persists in the relationship, even as the gruff Queensberry becomes more aggressive in his insults and warnings to Wilde to drop Bosie, and Wilde's friends point out that Bosie is sapping his creative energies. The result is a trial and Wilde's imprisonment.

Brian Gilbert, till now only a journeyman director, brings to the picture most of the qualities that were memorably absent in his previous costumer, "Tom & Viv" - visual fluency, deep-seated emotion and first rate playing from his cast. Aside from Fry, up-and-coming young actor Law (looking remarkably like John Fraser in the 1960 Finch version) makes an alternately likeable and infuriating Bosie. Equally strong, and providing a solid arc of friendship across Oscar's travails, is Sheen as Robbie.

Though she's on the margins of the story for much of the time, Ehle is excellent as Constance, giving quiet substance to a potentially token role. She comes through especially strongly in the pic's most moving scene, a heart-to-heart between Oscar and Constance in Reading Gaol. As the most brutish and out-spoken screen Queensberry to date, Wilkinson is also first-rate. Wanamaker, Redgrave and Judy Parfitt contribute solid extended cameos.

Film is handsomely appointed, from Debbie Wiseman's supportive orchestral score (with a soupcon of "Basic Instinct" in its main theme), through Nic Ede's lived-in costumers, to Maria Djurkovic's clever production design that gives pic a look way beyond its budget. Martin Fuhrer's autumnal widescreen lensing ensures movie never has a Brit telepic feel.