Long regarded as the definitive version of Oscar Wilde's classic play, Asquith's adaptation still suffers from the faults of the original despite being heavily edited (running at what ought to be a brisk 90 minutes).
"Earnest" is a social satire, a comedy of nonsensical manners and civilities, the like of which Wilde continually penned, and its plot - whilst relying heavily on co-incidence - is satisfyingly circular and consistent. The problem lies with the fact that very little actually happens, and what does happen occurs very, very slowly due to the sheer verbosity of the dialogue. Now, much of this is what gives the play its charm and it cannot be denied that the syntax and vocabulary has a beauty all of its own. However, one can admire a work of art whilst not necessarily liking it. An Oscar Wilde play is whimsical and not to be taken altogether seriously, which means that, though they are witty, they are ultimately quite superficial - this coupled with the sheer amount of dialogue often makes a Wilde play seem far longer than it actually is. I often think that Wilde's plays are far better when read than actually performed, as when performed they are often far too much to take in in one go. You feel pinned to the chair by the waves of dry wit.
"The Importance of Being Earnest" therefore has a delightful plot, and equally delightful characters, but remains just as slow as Wilde's other plays, especially when directed in such a languid fashion as this version. For a dialogue heavy comedy such as this to entirely work, a sense of energy much be cultivated (I was recently in a theatrical adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray which suffered from having very little energy at all and ultimately proved a chore for the audience to watch) which is all but lacking here as the characters go about everything quite calmly and stoically. Of course, this is arguably in keeping with the source material but makes the film difficult for modern viewers to sit through. A shame as the majority of the cast is first rate; in particular, Michael Denison is superb as Algernon, though it is difficult to single out anybody in particular (interesting, though, that Rutherford's Miss Prism is often used as the focus of relevant artwork for the film given that the role is really quite small, even more so in this adaptation - it is perhaps tantamount to Rutherford's performance that her Miss Prism is so well remembered). I must admit to not really enjoying Edith Evans' portrayal of Lady Bracknell, though that may be more due to the character as written; though Evans is very much the gorgon of which Jack Worthing speaks, the witticisms Wilde scribes for her are far better when delivered as casual rapid-fire lines, as opposed to the over-emphasised and long delivery that an actress feels compelled to give when playing Bracknell. Evans stretches out lines to breaking point so that when she has finished a sentence one quite forgets as to how it began.
The play itself deserves to remain a classic of its genre though perhaps is more likely to be admired than actively enjoyed, certainly in this incarnation.
"Earnest" is a social satire, a comedy of nonsensical manners and civilities, the like of which Wilde continually penned, and its plot - whilst relying heavily on co-incidence - is satisfyingly circular and consistent. The problem lies with the fact that very little actually happens, and what does happen occurs very, very slowly due to the sheer verbosity of the dialogue. Now, much of this is what gives the play its charm and it cannot be denied that the syntax and vocabulary has a beauty all of its own. However, one can admire a work of art whilst not necessarily liking it. An Oscar Wilde play is whimsical and not to be taken altogether seriously, which means that, though they are witty, they are ultimately quite superficial - this coupled with the sheer amount of dialogue often makes a Wilde play seem far longer than it actually is. I often think that Wilde's plays are far better when read than actually performed, as when performed they are often far too much to take in in one go. You feel pinned to the chair by the waves of dry wit.
"The Importance of Being Earnest" therefore has a delightful plot, and equally delightful characters, but remains just as slow as Wilde's other plays, especially when directed in such a languid fashion as this version. For a dialogue heavy comedy such as this to entirely work, a sense of energy much be cultivated (I was recently in a theatrical adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray which suffered from having very little energy at all and ultimately proved a chore for the audience to watch) which is all but lacking here as the characters go about everything quite calmly and stoically. Of course, this is arguably in keeping with the source material but makes the film difficult for modern viewers to sit through. A shame as the majority of the cast is first rate; in particular, Michael Denison is superb as Algernon, though it is difficult to single out anybody in particular (interesting, though, that Rutherford's Miss Prism is often used as the focus of relevant artwork for the film given that the role is really quite small, even more so in this adaptation - it is perhaps tantamount to Rutherford's performance that her Miss Prism is so well remembered). I must admit to not really enjoying Edith Evans' portrayal of Lady Bracknell, though that may be more due to the character as written; though Evans is very much the gorgon of which Jack Worthing speaks, the witticisms Wilde scribes for her are far better when delivered as casual rapid-fire lines, as opposed to the over-emphasised and long delivery that an actress feels compelled to give when playing Bracknell. Evans stretches out lines to breaking point so that when she has finished a sentence one quite forgets as to how it began.
The play itself deserves to remain a classic of its genre though perhaps is more likely to be admired than actively enjoyed, certainly in this incarnation.