Chris Park
Professor Wolff
CLit 100
March 7, 2014
Curious Case of Mr. Worthing (Prompt #2)
Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde is famous writer and poet known for his witty, clever, and humorous writing whose selected works had been turned into movies. One of his most famous plays to be made into a movie is “The Importance of Being Earnest.” The play was turned into a movie by Anthony Asquith in 1952. It is known for its genius cleverness and witty dialogue and, of course, (SPOILER ALERT) an intriguing plot twist. The story is set in Victorian London and revolves around Jack Worthing and Algernon “Algy” Moncrieff and their love interests. At the end of the movie (and the play), it turns out that Mr. Worthing is Algernon’s older brother, information pieced together from Miss Prism’s secret and Mr. Worthing’s origin story, which allows him to marry Gwendolen Fairfax. Anthony Asquith’s 1952 film adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s play, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” introduces the possibility of a simpler life for Mr. Jack Worthing had his life been filled with earnestness and truth instead of falseness and white-truths.
Anthony Asquith continually emphasizes the importance of being earnest and how simple the life of Mr. Worthing could have been throughout the movie. Behind the clever dialogue between Mr. Worthing and Algernon in the first scene, there lies an impeccable taste of deceit. The idea that one of them, or both, is hiding something is present throughout their conversation. Algernon asks “Where have you been since last Thursday…And who are the people you amuse?”(Asquith, 2:01-2:13) and cleverly segues into stating “and before I allow you to marry her, you will have to clear up the whole question of Cecily”(Asquith, 3:55-3:59). Algernon already has a specific subject he wishes to inquire Mr. Worthing about yet Algernon cleverly starts off by asking simple and mundane questions like where he was and who he was with. This is the beginning of a very...