The tragic and poetic story of the last days of Oscar Wilde will play out on screen during this week’s Brock University Film Society (BUFS) offering.

The Happy Prince, a film about the literary genius who lived and died for love at the close of the 19th century, comes to the Film House in downtown St. Catharines on Nov. 22.

The movie was written and directed by, and stars Rupert Everett.

Everett “channels Wilde’s literary bearing, clever wit and absinthe-tinged wooziness with poignancy and pathos,” says the L.A. Times. He is joined onscreen by Edwin Thomas, Colin Morgan, Emily Watson and Colin Firth.

As Wilde (Everett) lies on his deathbed in a cheap Parisian hotel, his past floods back, transporting him to other times and places. A kaleidoscope of memories, vignettes and hallucinations reveals Wilde’s failed attempt to reconcile with his long-suffering wife (Watson), doomed love affairs with Lord Alfred Douglas (Morgan) and Robbie Ross (Thomas), and enduring friendship with novelist Reggie Turner (Firth).     

“Wilde’s mighty struggle with himself, with his heavenly talent and earthly lusts, and the meaning of it all resonates so strongly with the direction and performance that The Happy Prince is easily elevated past period Victoriana … to move and engage in equal parts,” says Screen International.

Tickets for all BUFS shows are available at the Film House in the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (PAC) on the evening of screenings. General admission is $9 or $7 for members, plus tax. Memberships are available through the Film House website.

Visit the BUFS web page for a full list of this season’s selections. A calendar of films coming to the PAC over the next few months is posted on the Film House website. Look for the red B that indicates a BUFS-hosted screening.

For more than 40 years, the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film has hosted the film society (previously known as a series) to bring some of the best in independent, international and Canadian cinema to St. Catharines.