Instead of focusing on Oscar Wilde's career accomplishments, Brian Gilbert's Wilde largely concerns itself with the tragic relationship with Douglas, or Bosie, as he was called. Great pains are taken to record Wilde's downfall, catalyzed by scandalous sodomy charges brought against him by Bosie's father, the loathsome Marquess of Queensberry (Tom Wilkinson). By focusing on Wilde's trial and imprisonment, the film makes him out to be more of a gay martyr than a brilliant wit and playwright. This approach results in a somewhat incomplete portrayal, but Wilde is inarguably well served by Stephen Fry's characterization. Hulking, refined, and bearing more than a passing resemblance to the character he inhabits, Fry gives a performance marked by wit, passion, and surpassing dignity.