Not everything Wilde wrote was a comedy through and through. This is more accurately a satire, and though the Wildean wit is definitely present, there are moments of drama and tension. Unfortunately, these moments are marred in this film by an underscoring which is inexplicably bright and merry, almost frenetic, and which undercuts the mood that the text and actors are trying to create. I'm not sure what Korda was attempting to do with such an intrusive score--perhaps he wanted to convey the frivolity of the "gay 90s" referred to in the opening voice-over?--but I'd love to see it without the annoying soundtrack. I imagine it would be quite a different movie.
Review of An Ideal Husband
