There is sometimes a certain naivete in genius. Taking an Olympian view of life, this Oscar seems free from the pettiness and narrow-mindedness of lesser mortals. It's as if Wilde were trying to tell himself that somehow his own high-mindedness would shield him from what we would perceive as imminent and inevitable scandal, that having learned to be true to his nature would somehow save the day, even though that day was in an age remarkable for its sexual hypocrisy and moral condemnation of homosexuality.

Although Wilde's libel suit, aimed at the marquis of Queensbury, who privately had labeled Wilde a "Somdomite [sic]", has always seemed an act of self-destructive folly, Wilde apparently had convinced himself that a public attack on the dreadful Queensbury would prevent him from destroying his son. As it turned out, Wilde's downfall was dizzyingly swift, and he wound up sentenced to two years of hard labor for acts of "gross indecency". His health undermined, he would be dead at only 46 in 1900.

Gilbert clearly gave Fry and Law the confidence to play roles that would require a baring of souls, and they are triumphant. Ehle's Constance comes across as a woman of noble character, initially in denial, but never a fool. Sheen's Ross has a genuine loyalty of a degree that is enviable, a quality shared by Wilde's other staunch friend, Ada Leverson (Zoe Wanamaker). Vanessa Redgrave is Wilde's feisty, steadfast mother, and along with Wilkinson, there is strong support from Gemma Jones as the unhappy Lady Queensbury and Judy Parfitt as Lady Mount-Temple, whose tart observations on the hypocritical appearance-is-everything mores of high society help define the world of Oscar Wilde.

A work of superior craftsmanship, "Wilde" moves quite briskly, and the idea of approaching an unconventional life with a traditional narrative style pays off. Unfortunately, the film is marred by Debbie Wiseman's trite, overly emotional score, which has the effect of needlessly underlining every point along the way that has otherwise been made so subtly. It is especially undermining in its morose tone in the film's final sequences, when the pace naturally slows down as Wilde's life enters its final phase.

Everyone else involved in the making of "Wilde" has done an exemplary job illuminating a man and his era. Wilde was a man undone by trying to lead a double life, but one who nonetheless found the courage to be true to himself. Wilde worried that his instantly banned plays would be forgotten, but they are constantly revived, their place in world literature secure. Nearly a century after his death, he is remembered even more than they - and as a hero.