life of the flamboyant author" and commented, "Stephen Fry has the title role, and it's hard to imagine a more appropriate actor ... In the last third, the film derails somewhat by turning preachy ... While [it] captures its subject's singular charm, it ultimately doesn't do justice to his complexity." In the San Francisco Examiner, David Armstrong said the film "benefits from its lush period costumes and settings but gains even more from an accomplished cast of British film and stage actors ... Stephen Fry ... slips right under the skin of the title character [and] presents a multidimensional portrait of a complex man ... However, Wilde, like Wilde, is flawed. Gilbert's direction is sturdy but uninspired, and Ehle's part is underwritten. To her credit, Ehle movingly conveys the sad frustration that Wilde implanted in his lonely wife; but Ehle has to do the work, playing her feelings on her face, with little help from Julian Mitchell's screenplay." 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." 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." 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." Home media The film was released on DVD in 2002. A region 2 Blu-ray was released in December 2015. Accolades Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Stephen Fry, Nominee) BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Jennifer Ehle and Zoë Wanamaker, Nominees) Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer (Jude Law, Nominee) Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Technical/Artistic Achievement (Maria Djurkovic, Nominee) GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film (Nominee) Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama (Fry, Nominee) Seattle International Film Festival Golden Space Needle Award for Best Actor (Fry, Winner) Ivor Novello Award for Best