talking to Oliver Parker, the director of TIOBE 

"Judi was the one I'd always wanted for Bracknell. We had a little bit of a headache trying to fit (it into her schedule). She did so much work. It was at that sad time when her husband had died and she was working on about three pictures at once, I think. But she was pretty determined and the various producers got together and managed to squeeze a few days (from the schedule she'd need to fit into). She had about 13 days to do all her stuff. She came in and it's not one of those parts where you can sort of hang about for a couple of days. You hit the ground and you run, you know. She was amazing. She did 'Earnest' at the National, probably over 10 years ago. Her main concern was that it would be a too theatrical grasp of it, but what appealed to me about her in the first place is that she always brings a very deep humanity to whatever she does. For me, that counters any fear you have of it being theatrical. It's inevitably going to be theatrical in some respects. That's its roots and I don't think you need to shy from it. But, at the same time, the bad side of that coin is often a less rooted emotional characterization. She's incapable of not giving a full-blooded performance, so I never had any fears about that though she (was) a little nervous to start with. But within a few epigrams she was roaring along." 

While Dench was almost an obvious choice to play Lady Bracknell, Parker's casting of Reese Witherspoon to play Cecily was more of an inspiration. "I really liked the idea of Reese, having seen her in 'Election,' " he told me. "It's a tricky part, Cecily, because I wanted somebody who's genuinely young. Too often I've seen it where it's usually somebody pretending to be young and also pretending to be sort of innocent and pretending to be a lot of things that end up being arch, which is the opposite tack we're trying to take with it. What's so good about Reese is her terrific directness and I don't mean fierceness, but she's got an amazing terrier-like grip on truthfulness. So she makes that character for me. 

"Immediately you believe the context and there's not a wink at the audience or any tongue-in-cheek. It's a very strong and genuine performance. It's tricky (to cast) because we don't have much experience for young actresses. The two or three that were feasible for me didn't have yet the chops on screen. What I liked (about Witherspoon) is that she is so -- mature sounds condescending -- so at home and experienced already at her age. And she brings all that (to the role), which is sort of what Cecily is. Cecily is a bit of a tigress in sheep's clothing. So that was always appealing to me and I liked the idea that Algy comes along and here's this pretty little thing he thinks he's going to sweep off her feet and actually she's a darned sight tougher than you first give her credit for." Inasmuch as Witherspoon isn't English, her accent posed a potential problem. "It's always a nerve wracking one because in the casting process -- especially if you're dealing with somebody who is of some status or name -- you rarely get a chance to work with them before offering them the role," Parker explained. "But I did some research on her and she's a bit of a good impressionist. She's extremely good at accents. When she came into rehearsals, she hid her light under a bushel for some weeks, but worked like crazy. I kept very close to the coach, who's definitely one of the best I know and she was extremely encouraging about her. What I like about her take is that she doesn't just do an accent, she does an accent for the character. She gives it a slightly old-fashioned (sound). She puts a lot into it. The thing about Reese is she is a perfectionist. She's not going to do it unless she believes in it. She worked like crazy. There was a time when I think she was nervous about how much she'd bitten off, but she certainly chewed it all by the end. I was incredibly impressed."

As for Colin Firth, who plays Jack, Parker noted, "Colin I know from way back. He's a dear fellow and, also, I think what I like about him is that role Jack is often a bit of a stooge to Algy. Algy tends to have the funny lines and having played Jack I sort of understood that it's not necessarily appealing. But in my adaptation I was quite concerned (about) that. In some ways, his is the story with the most change to it. I was quite interested to try and get a little big more compassion into the story than is normally the point. I would say originally its intention is more satirical and wickedly sharp. With time, the objects of satire are perhaps less evident and particularly on screen I felt it important to try and create this world where you give them a context you believe in a bit more. The great thing about film is that you can actually draw out the world they're living in much more and immediately you're getting a rapport between them and their environment. 

"And Colin, I find, is a terrifically detailed and sensitive performer. He can bring the sensitivity and complexity (to the role). What I was really thrilled with was I feel there's a lot of range to him in this part. I think there are moments that I was surprised that they're sweetly affecting. I wasn't quite sure how they'd turn out. (And that's) partly because of the rapport between the two guys. They worked together many years ago on 'Another Country' on screen and that rapport is there. On set it's there. I'm pretty confident that that's what sort of (resulted in) what they do on screen. Rupert is a terrifically sharp-witted fellow and you've got to keep your own about you. And Colin and he had some terrifically good fun almost fraternal tangles. It wasso clearly aimed at what they were doing and they became even firm friends, I think, by the end, which was lovely." 

Shooting got underway in April 2001 at Ealing Studios, the historic British studio that opened in 1902 and became a center in the '40s and '50s for the production of classic British comedies like "The Ladykillers" and "The Lavender Hill Mob." "We shot the country stuff at West Wycombe Manor, about 45 minutes drive west of London," Parker said. "We saw quite a few places. I was enchanted with this one because there's something rather unusual and slightly magical about the place. It was actually built by one of the founding members of the Hell Fire Club in West Wycombe in 1760. His descendants are still there now. There's a huge Italianate entrance on the place. A lot of murals and very curious little statues. I found it rather intriguing because what I was looking for in the country was not just the English lovely countryside but just a hint of something a bit magical. Its roots are, I think, not just Restoration, but Shakespeare and, more specifically, 'A Mid-Summer Night's Dream.' I've always liked the idea that in their dream the lovers leave the city and go to the woods where they sort of wrestle with themselves and each other. There's something about in this story leaving the town and strange things sort of happen. These are rather repressed Victorians, as many of the upper classes were, and there's a whole lot of intriguing fantasies lurking not far beneath that surface. So the play, for me, had a bit of that. 

"Otherwise, I was quite keen in the early stuff just to get a bit of London just to get some contrast. Town and country seem to be a quite strong split an image in the piece in that they sort of reflect Ernest and Jack. They really (only) have a few scenes at the beginning, but it was crucial that we got them and we see a sort of humming London and the nightclubs and we seen the gambling rooms and then you get more a sense of poor Cecily imprisoned in this place until things start to stir up and various intruders arrive. Also, in the design I found myself using Luciana Arrighi as set designer. I'd been working with her on that Italian thing (Parker's 'Fade to Black' project) and got to know her. She's got a lot of flair. I quite liked just little hints of not-Englishness about it. Partly because Wilde, himself, wasn't, you know. We sort of claimed him over here, but, of course, he wasn't. He was an Irishman with his perspective on it. And it's quite nice having just a little tilt at it. The costumes were Marizio Millenotti, who's worked with Fellini and Zefirelli. And they knew of each other and worked together. I quite liked the combination of their sensibilities." 

How did production go? "There should be more than 24 hours a day when you're shooting a period piece," Parker replied. "It takes forever to get everybody assembled in their period costumes with their period hair on. And then you break for lunch and they go down the hill in a car and then you miss two hours for lunch. You add up the hours of the day and you think, 'We'd better get a move on. So that was a continuous strain. But we had a terrific atmosphere. There was something fun about sort of an ensemble piece. I often find with something like that, if the majority of the folks are committed to it, it has a momentum of its own. It seemed to me crucial to have that sort of atmosphere with this sort of thing. So it was really enjoyable and there were some lovely moments. In the countryside, I'll never forget Judi (driving) around the English lawny slopes in this sort of golf cart that used to take her from her (trailer) up to the set. She used to be driven the first couple of days and after a while she booted her driver out and you'd see her (driving about herself). We called it the Brackmobile. She would race along. On the whole, there were lots of fun bits. Working with Rupert again was a great treat. Frances is, I think, an amazing actress (playing Lady Bracknell's daughter Gwendolen Fairfax) and I would work with her again at the drop of a hat." 

Asked what it cost to make the film, he said, "It was about $12 million. Not bad (with such a strong cast involved). We shot for eight and a half weeks. They were all very generous." Parker then added with a laugh, "They paid to be in it, of course." 

Looking ahead, he observed, "Barney's been pushing to do more Wilde. There are various ones around. Of course, there's 'Dorian Gray.' I don't think I will direct, but I might be involved at some level -- maybe a bit of production on it somehow. But for the time being I think I need to try and find, at least, another muscle. It may be my Italian one (so I'll have) to see if I can do this thriller. We're pretty bloody close to it. But it's a tricky one to cast. It's not a long list that we can go through. We've got a lot of money interest now and we're hoping to be shooting it in September and prep in July. So it's sort of there, but I've been closer than 'there' before and not done it. I'm not counting my chickens, but I'm hoping to be talking to you about it."