Can Oscar Wilde’s biting Victorian wit survive a sunny, modernised trip to Italy?

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: A Good Woman, a 2004 adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan, transplants the playwright’s sharp social satire to 1930s Amalfi. While the film retains the original’s famous aphorisms, critics argue that moving the story from rigid Victorian England to a photogenic, naturalistic setting strips away the work’s essential, biting energy.

Directed by Mike Barker, A Good Woman serves as the fourth screen iteration of Wilde’s 1892 play. The narrative follows Mrs. Erlynne, a social pariah who flees New York for Italy, where she targets the husband of a young woman named Meg. The plot hinges on a secret: Erlynne is actually Meg’s mother, extorting money from Meg’s husband to maintain her lifestyle while shielding her daughter from the truth of her own past. The film attempts to modernize the source material, but this shift in context proved controversial among critics.

The production, an Anglo-Italian-Spanish co-production, utilized locations across Italy, including Amalfi, Atrani, and Rome. Despite the scenic vistas, reviewers like Kenneth Turan noted that the story’s core themes—specifically the crushing weight of societal expectations—struggle to resonate outside the strict confines of Victorian England. By attempting to make the characters more well-rounded and naturalistic, the film arguably sacrificed the brilliant artifice and sharp, crackling energy that defined Wilde’s original conception.

Critical reception was largely mixed, with the film holding a 37% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 53/100 score on Metacritic. Reviewers frequently pointed to a jarring divide between the British cast members, who appeared comfortable with Wilde’s dialogue, and the American leads, Helen Hunt and Scarlett Johansson. Critics like Stephen Holden and Wendy Ide felt the film lacked the playwright's trademark bite, suggesting that the aphorisms felt forced or cannibalized from other works rather than organic to the script. Ultimately, while the film grossed nearly $6.9 million worldwide, it left many critics feeling that the adaptation failed to capture the true spirit of the Irish playwright’s enduring wit.

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