Johansson is only marginally less uncomfortable as the increasingly suspicious Meg, courted by a silver-tongued playboy, Lord Darlington (Moore), who sees an opportunity to strike. Meanwhile, Erlynne is courted by Lord Augustus, aka Tuppy (Wilkinson), a wealthy, age-appropriate aristocrat who knows she doesn't love him but is nonetheless smitten. The disclosure of secrets and hidden agendas eventually leads us to re-evaluate Erlynne in a much more positive light.
A Good Woman never overcomes its stylistic disharmony. The solid performances of Wilkinson, Moore and the supporting British cast notwithstanding, the movie is so flat that it almost makes you grateful for Oliver Parker's recent flawed screen adaptations of Wilde, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest.
Those films also played fast and loose with Wilde (Earnest, which verged on farce, brought in gimmicks like helium balloons and found Reese Witherspoon struggling to appear authentically English), but nothing like this. Of course, it's understandable that filmmakers want to add color and texture to Wilde; the movies are such a visual medium. But it really shouldn't be necessary, if Wilde's language is allowed to do its tricks.
Photos: courtesy of Vie Vision Pictures
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