Once the toast of London, the great man of letters is now living in a kind of exile in Naples and Paris after being released from prison following a conviction for ‘gross indecency’; the result of his very public affair with Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas (Colin Morgan).

Lying on his death bed, Wilde’s eventful life comes flooding back via expertly interspersed flashbacks, featuring his glory days as the toast of the literary establishment and the beginning of his downfall – cast out by his humiliated ex-wife Constance (Emily Watson), though still supported by loyal allies Robbie Ross (Edwin Thomas) and Reggie Turner (Colin Firth). Now, viewing his situation with humour and an ironic detachment, he must nevertheless draw on his internal reserves to face the end of his life – and the wreckage of his public self – with courage.

“It's a fearless, committed, and award-worthy turn, and emblematic of a first-time film-maker at his most expressive and most affecting.” – KEVIN MAHER, THE TIMES