Episode 1: Wilde-in' out

Happy Vanessa Redgrave appreciation month, everyone! 

For our inaugural episode, we watched the 1997 film Wilde, starring Stephen Fry, Jude Law, Jennifer Ehle, Vanessa Redgrave, and literally every other British actor that was available that week. 

A few things we mentioned in the episode (and a few we didn't), if you want to look into it:

• The Victorian prison philosophy was way harsh. This page is about a jail ("gaol") in Melbourne, but it expands a little on the depressing prison imagery you see in the film, including that terrifying mask. 
• Oscar's childhood sweetheart Florence Balcombe married Bram Stoker, who was apparently an acquaintance of Oscar's in their college days. He also visited Oscar on the continent after he was released from prison.
• John Gray was such a pretty young thing. After his relationship with Oscar ended, he became a priest and maintained a chaste life partnership with Marc-Andre Raffalovich, a writer and early defender of homosexuality. The two of them died within 4 months of one another. :'(
• Robbie Ross was close friends Cyril and Vyvyan Wilde after their father's death. His ashes were moved to Oscar's tomb on the 50th anniversary of Oscar's death. 
• Bosie was drama right up until the end. He married a lesbian named Olive Eleanor Custance and they had a kid together. He also became vocally anti-semitic in his later years.
• Lindsay lied. The nasty kissing clip from TLC's gone-too-soon Virgin Diaries is totally available online.

Lindsay's take: 3.5 out of 5 peacock feathers. For a movie with a funny guy playing one of the brightest wits ever, it was surprisingly sad. But then I guess that's probably pretty true to the life of a gay genius in Victorian London. 

Molly's take: 4 out of 5 peacock feathers. This movie had it all: historical accuracy, women talking about trousers, rentboys. I'm docking it a peacock feather because I never learned the Michelle Visage character's name and also I had to hear that quip about alcohol several times.