Dream Cast Thursday! Oscar Wilde

I have been really excited about unveiling this Dream Cast Thursday for a while.This week's Dream Cast Thursday is Oscar Wilde themed! This week, I will be recasting An Ideal Husband and the Importance of Being Earnest. Both were originally comedic stage plays by Wilde, but there have been many adaptations. An Ideal Husband was performed for the first time in 1895. The Importance of Being Earnest also premiered in 1895. When choosing my cast, I looked at adaptations that came out in 1999 and 2002.

The first character that I recast from an Ideal Husband was Lord Arthur Goring. He was played by Rupert Everett. For my adaptation, I cast Michael Fassbender.

The second character that I recast was Miss Mabel Chiltern. She was played by Minnie Driver. For my adaptation, I cast Anna Friel.

The third character that I recast was Sir Robert Chiltern. He has been played by Jeremy Northam. For my adaptation, I cast David Tennant.

The fourth character that I cast was Lady Gertrude Chiltern. She was played by Cate Blanchett. For my adaptation, I cast Rosamund Pike. 

The last character that I recast from an Ideal Husband was Mrs. Laura Cheveley. She was played by Julianne Moore. For my adaptation, I cast Rebecca Hall.

The first character that I recast from the Importance of Being Earnest was Jack Worthing. He was played by Colin Firth. For my adaptation, I cast James D'Arcy.

The second character that I recast was Gwendolen Fairfax. She was played by Frances O'Connor. For my adaptation, I cast Kate Winslet.

The third character that I recast was Algernon Moncrieff. He was played by Rupert Everett. For my adaptation, I cast Lee Pace.

The last character that I recast was Cecily Cardew. She was played by Reese Witherspoon. For my adaptation, I cast Juno Temple.

So what do you all think? Have you read/seen the plays? Which are your favorite adaptations and who would be in your cast?

Cracks

I just saw a very interesting drama called Cracks. It came out at the end of last year and was written by Jordan Scott, Caroline Ip, and Ben Court and directed by Jordan Scott. It was originally a novel by Sheila Kohler that came out in 2006.

The film is set at an elite, all girls boarding school in England in the 1930s. A new girl arrives at the school. When the attention of their favorite professor, Miss G, shifts to this new girl, the students become jealous and hurtful.

The film was visually stunning. The scenes when the girls go to the lake to swim and the scene when they stay up late for their midnight feast for St. Agnes are some of the most beautifully directed scenes that I have ever seen.

The cast was also wonderful. Eva Green and Juno Temple were especially wonderful. These roles were perfect for them. I have seen Juno Temple in many films now where she had been the "bad guy." This was the first time that I actually felt for her and felt that she was a sympathetic character. Sinead Cusack also did a really good job (although her role was not very large). This was the first film that I have ever seen Maria Valverde in, and she did a remarkable job. It would have been very easy for her to become a very cliche character, but this was not the case. Despite first impressions, I found myself really feeling for every single one of the characters.

This film is already out on dvd in England, but is available at a few places online. I recently saw a trailer at on the Apple trailer website, so I believe that it will be getting some kind of a release in that states (but I am not sure how wide of a release). I would definitely recommend this film. If you can find it somewhere, you should definitely watch it. It is really a must-see!

Glorious 39

I just saw another excellent film by Stephen Poliakoff (see my other reviews of Poliakoff films). It is called Glorious 39 and takes place in England, in the summer of '39. The film follows the Keyes family. The eldest sibling's name is Anne and her life begins to unravel as she stumbles upon a secret involving a movement in favor of making a deal with Hitler.

As with all Poliakoff films, it was very character driven, but this film was more than simply characters. In addition to wonderful performances, the film itself was absolutely stunning. Jeremy Northam, Eddie Redmayne, Juno Temple, David Tennant, and Julie Christie all gave really good performances, but I was extemely impressed with Bill Nighy and especially Romola Garai. This was probably my absolute favorite performance of Garai's.

This film is DEFINITELY a must-see! I have already added it to my amazon wishlist, posted the trailer to facebook and recommended it to nearly everyone the I know!