La Séductrice

Pleasant surprise. The brilliant observer of human relations Oscar Wilde certainly played a big role, so the polished dialogues were a pleasure to listen to (especially Tom Wilkinson's apt and slightly ironic observations on life), as was the wonderful atmosphere of the 1930s (precise period design and pleasant period music), and it went by like a Swiss watch. And on top of that, further confirmation of what a wonderful and underrated actress Helen Hunt is!! A Movie with a capital M. (25/09/2008)

A charming, delicate, and utterly delightful experience from 1930. (And since the albino Johansson got a proper beating, it was even better :)) Although Helen Hunt cannot be compared to Lil Dagover, her Mrs. Erlynne was still one of the best characters. (20/03/2009)

J’ai lu L'Éventail de Lady Windermere il y a longtemps au lycée, mais je ne me souvenais plus de rien à part du fait que ça contenait un meurtre – mon seul point de comparaison entre l’œuvre littéraire et son adaptation dans La Séductrice. Pour certaines raisons, la première moitié m’a fait penser au Temps de l’innocence. Après le retournement de situation central, la ressemblance avec le chef-d’œuvre de Scorsese s’est dissipée et j’ai réalisé petit à petit que le meurtre provenait d’une autre œuvre de Wilde : Le Fantôme de Canterville. Quoi qu’il en soit, j’ai adoré la finesse des dialogues, les aphorismes et autres jeux d’esprit, ainsi que l’intrigue intéressante. Les Américains se débrouillent bien dans l’adaptation des œuvres littéraires et évitent les écueils. (03/07/2008)

The Picture of Dorian Gray goes without saying, but apart from this one novel I've read virtually all of Oscar Wilde's prose including unconventional short stories and fairy tales. The classic elements of Wilde's work can be found in this film adaptation of the play – the desire for freedom of behavior and expression, the clear (though of course humorously rendered) demarcation against petty bourgeoisie, and the clear contradiction between what Wilde's characters considered important and what society of the time considered "important". Helen Hunt gives an excellent portrayal of a woman of looser mores who is practically a pariah in that society, and a competition and danger to all taken women, as she attracts a considerable number of men of all ages with her Bohemian manner. And what I liked very much was the demonstration that such people (seemingly on the fringes of "polite" society) can (one would almost like to write that they often really should) have more tact, morality, and genuine decency in the end than those who merely preach demonstratively about these things. A very pleasant and elegant affair. (03/01/2013)