Wilde (1997) is an English biopic about the life of the iconic Irish writer and playwright Oscar Wilde (played by Stephen Fry) in the late-Victorian era. This full-length feature spans the breadth of Wilde’s adult life, from his marriage to Constance (Jennifer Ehle) to his consequential affair with Lord Alfred “Bosey” Douglas (Jude Law) to his trial for gross indecency and beyond.
Oscar is most often seen wearing his floppy hair quite long and parted in the middle, while also wearing extremely fashionable suits and patterns that were considered indulgent and flamboyant for the time.
The story of this beloved writer’s life has been told and retold many times in television and film. What’s particularly outstanding about this adaptation is the attention and care that the screenplay gives to Oscar’s attraction to and marriage with Constance in the first half of the film. Whereas most tellings focus almost exclusively on his same-sex attractions and portray him as gay, Wilde makes sure to include his opposite-sex attractions as well. Multiple scenes show Oscar’s embraces and intimacy with Constance and have Oscar declare his happiness with his marriage and children. Though Wilde is better known for his same-sex exploits, which are explored in the rest of the film, this is an important part of his life story and one that often gets overlooked.
Of course, much attention is also given to Oscar’s attraction to men in general, and to Bosey in particular (a beautiful but cruel man), and the havoc it wreaks when Bosey’s father puts Wilde’s life on public trial for “gross indecency” due to his same-sex attractions. Though we know it is doomed, we can’t help but become absorbed in his relationship with Bosey, as well as his attraction to “rent boys” (male sex workers) of the time — one of whom is played by a young Orlando Bloom. In this way, Wilde makes sure to show a more balanced portrayal of Oscar’s bi attractions throughout his life. The term “bi” is never used in the film, however, that’s understandable given that the term was only coined in 1892, late in Wilde’s lifetime.
Though Fry himself is gay and not bisexual, he has expressed how important Wilde’s work was to him growing up. From a 2023 article in The Independent:
In a new interview with Radio Times, Fry, 65, spoke about how reading [H. Montgomery Hyde’s The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1948)] at a young age highlighted his own homosexuality.
‘I started to gasp and pant and feel simultaneously triumphant and terribly, terribly worried,’ Fry told the publication.
‘I suddenly understood this extraordinary man and that his ‘nature’ — the word he used in his famous letter to his lover ‘Bosie’ — his nature was the same as mine. As soon as I read that, I knew that I was gay.’
At many points over the years, commentators have declared that bisexuality is a new phenomenon or a new sexuality. This is, of course, false, with many historical figures showing attractions to both sexes throughout human history. Wilde is a wonderful representation of this reality, and as such, it’s an excellent, sympathetic example of male bisexuality in modern period films and biopics.