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An Ideal Husband (1999 film)
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Wikipedia article
'An Ideal Husband' is a 1999 British film based on the 1895 play 'An Ideal Husband' by Oscar Wilde. The film stars Jeremy Northam, Rupert Everett, Julianne Moore, Minnie Driver and Cate Blanchett. It was directed by Oliver Parker.
It was selected as the 1999 Cannes Film Festival's closing film.
Plot
Sir Robert Chiltern is a successful government minister, well-off and with a loving wife. All this is threatened when Mrs Cheveley appears in London with damning evidence of a past misdeed. Sir Robert turns to his friend Lord Goring for help, an apparently idle philanderer and the despair of his father. Goring knows the lady of old and the plot to help his friend has unintended consequences.
The plot of the film differs from the original Wilde play in a number of key respects. The episode of Mrs Cheveley's lost bracelet was removed, and the twists at the end are made more complex by the introduction of a bet between Lord Goring and Mrs Cheveley, and Lord Goring's need to ask the permission of Sir Robert Chiltern to marry his sister, Miss Mabel Chiltern.
Cast
*Cate Blanchett as Lady Gertrude Chiltern
*Minnie Driver as Miss Mabel Chiltern
*Rupert Everett as Lord Arthur Goring
*Julianne Moore as Mrs. Laura Cheveley
*Jeremy Northam as Sir Robert Chiltern
*John Wood as Lord Caversham
*Peter Vaughan as Phipps
*Ben Pullen as Tommy Trafford
*Marsha Fitzalan as Countess
*Lindsay Duncan as Lady Markby
*Neville Phillips as Mason
*Nickolas Grace as Vicomte de Nanjac
*Simon Russell Beale as Sir Edward
*Anna Patrick as Miss Danvers
*Delia Lindsay as Lady Basildon
Reception
The film received positive reviews from critics. Paper Magazine called it a "Witty comedy". It received a positive review from Roger Ebert. Entertainment Weekly called it "Delightful". The New York Observer said it was "Immensely entertaining". On Rotten Tomatoes it has a positive review rating of 86% Fresh, based on 65 critics.
Awards
Julianne Moore was nominated for the Chicago Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical, and a Golden Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. Moore won the National Board of Review award for Supporting Actress for her performances.Everett received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
The film was nominated for awards in three BAFTA categories: Oliver Parker for Best Adapted Screenplay, Caroline Harris for Best Costume Design, and Peter King for Best Make-up and Hair.
References
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