The Happy Prince

"“The truth is rarely pure and never simple”—this quote from one of Victorian playwright Oscar Wilde’s famous comedies could perhaps be applied in a melancholic sense to this complex biopic examining Wilde’s final years post release from Reading Gaol for “gross indecencies with men” and after his exile to Europe. Writer, director, producer and playing Wilde himself, quadruple threat Rupert Everett is a tour de force in his sympathetic and compelling passion project, which studies Wilde’s peripatetic, often penniless existence after the very public shaming and consequent imprisonment of the witty, magnetic playwright and social fixture."

"The Happy Prince proves that a film can be both bleak and warm-spirited, as befits its mighty subject."

"As a final, permanent showcase for a role Everett was born to play, then, "The Happy Prince" does the job."

"As a director, Everett is sometimes heavy-handed, but the performances, and the undeniable injustice of Wilde's ordeal, make for a tragedy worthy of its drama-loving subject."

"It's a fearless, committed, and award-worthy turn, and emblematic of a first-time film-maker at his most expressive and most affecting."

"There are real virtues to its comparative lack of polish: this story gains a seamy power from the rough edges, the exploratory style, even the slightly unstable editing."

"This film is a deeply felt, tremendously acted tribute to courage."

"It's an interesting, more sober counterpoint to 1997's Stephen Fry starring Wilde, but Happy Prince feels like more of a slog than it should be."

"With The Happy Prince, Everett has revealed himself to be one to watch behind the camera, as well as in front of it."

"A poignant story that is almost eclipsed by the egoistic frolics of its creator."

"An absorbing but shapeless bio-drama that never gains much steam."