On the opening night of his play Lady Windermere's Fan, Wilde is re-introduced to the dashingly handsome and foppish poet Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, whom he had met briefly the year before.

The hedonistic Bosie is not content to remain monogamous and frequently engages in sexual activity with rent boys while his older lover plays the role of voyeur.

Bosie's father, the Marquess of Queensberry, a violent and cruel man, objects to his son's relationship with Wilde and demeans the playwright shortly after the opening of The Importance of Being Earnest.

Everyone agreed he was physically perfect for the part and more than capable of carrying it off, but the fact he was not a major presence in films made it difficult for them to obtain financing for the project.

The website's consensus reads: "Wilde can't hope to communicate the entirety of its subject's fascinating life or outsize talent, but Stephen Fry's stellar performance offers abundant compensation.

[8] Janet Maslin of The New York Times called the film "a broad but effectively intimate portrait" and lauded Fry's performance, writing that he "looks uncannily like Wilde and presents a mixture of superciliousness and vulnerability.

"[9] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times opined that "Wilde has found a perfect Oscar in the formidably talented Stephen Fry, who brings an uncanny physical resemblance to the Victorian playwright along with a profound grasp of the great wit's psyche" and described the film as "a lustrous period piece with a high degree of authenticity in decor and costume."

Thomas also stated, "A work of superior craftsmanship, Wilde moves quite briskly, and the idea of approaching an unconventional life with a traditional narrative style pays off.

"[10] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said the film "has the good fortune to star Stephen Fry, a British author, actor and comedian who looks a lot like Wilde and has many of the same attributes: He is very tall, he is somewhat plump, he is gay, he is funny and he makes his conversation into an art.

"[11] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "a sympathetic and, for the most part, nicely realized look into the private life of the flamboyant author" and commented, "Stephen Fry has the title role, and it's hard to imagine a more appropriate actor ...

"[13] Derek Elley of Variety observed, "Brian Gilbert, till now only a journeyman director, brings to the picture most of the qualities that were memorably absent in his previous costumer, Tom & Viv – visual fluency, deep-seated emotion and first rate playing from his cast.

"[14] In the Evening Standard, Alexander Walker called the film "an impressive and touching work of intelligence, compassion and tragic stature" and said Stephen Fry "returns to the top of the class with a dominating screen performance.

"[15] In his review in Time Out New York, Andrew Johnston observed that "The first hour – filled with sharp humor and steamy gay sex – delivers a thoroughly modern portrait of Wilde, and Fry (who in costume bears an astonishing resemblance to the writer) plays him with a pitch-perfect combination of smugness and warmth.