A delicious portrayal of English upper class society An Ideal Husband 1999 | 90mins | dir: Oliver Parker | starring: Cate Blanchett, Rupert Everett, Julianne Moore | DVD available from Amazon reviewed by Lebby Eyres uploaded: 04-04-2004 Easter Bank Holiday's coming up, and what better way to enjoy yourself than watching An Ideal Husband? Some films make us ladies long to live in different times. Times when, if you were fortunate enough to be rich, life seemed to be an endless round of house parties, sumptuous breakfasts and walks in the park, and your day was constantly enlivened by crisp witticisms uttered by divine-looking potential mates. Usually, these films are based on works by Evelyn Waugh or Oscar Wilde (not Jane Austen — her heroines are too busy sewing). And even if they conjure up an image of a drawing room that probably never existed, even in Belgravia, we can’t help but be drawn in to the delicious portrayal of upper class English society. Instead of today’s pink-shirted sloanes and braying Henriettas, we have elegant young men called Arthur (Rupert Everett) and solid English beauties named Gertrude (Cate Blanchett) and Mabel (Minnie Driver). The plot, of course, is intricate, involving people doing the right thing which inevitably makes everyone else do the wrong thing. There’s a blackmail intrigue, by which scheming Mrs Cheveley (Julianne Moore) aims to make a lot of cash out of ‘upstanding’ Parliamentarian Sir Robert Chiltern (Jeremy Northam), and a complicated ménage a trois of prospective lovers (Arthur, Mabel and Mrs C). But we really shouldn’t concern ourselves with the intricacies of the events of the film. We know things will resolve themselves happily – the pleasure is how we get there. And that means paying full attention to the barbed comments and polished epigrams that director Oliver Parker’s perfectly suited and booted cast let fly every other minute. So ignore Minnie Driver’s precociousness, and Jeremy Northam’s stiffness, and enjoy what is, after all, a damn fine film. With a lot of pretty dresses. Best quote: "To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance" Lord Arthur Goring rating: 7/10 Bank Holiday Friday night at home? You could do a lot worse than watch this! [Clear winner]