Recent film versions of The Importance Of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband have faithfully retained Oscar Wilde's view of snobbish 19th-century society. Kudos, then, to A Good Woman helmer Mike Barker for moving Wilde's play Lady Windermere's Fan to 1930s Italy, where the author's pithy aphorisms compete for our attention with gorgeous Mediterranean scenery. The dialogue proves a mouthful for society gals Helen Hunt and Scarlett Johansson, so Tom Wilkinson shines brightest as an ageing toff with a heart of gold.

Hunt plays Mrs Erlynne, a penniless New York socialite who travels to Europe to squeeze cash out of young newlyweds Robert and Meg Windermere (Mark Umbers and Scarlett Johansson) and find herself a new man. The notorious seductress is soon enjoying secret liaisons with Robert while Meg, convinced that her new husband is having an affair, falls into the arms of the caddish Lord Darlington (Bright Young Things' Stephen Campbell Moore).

"SKILLFULLY BANISHES THEATRICALITY"

Wilde's 1892 play was his first stage success and set the template for his other studies of class and human nature. But while Barker keeps faith with the author's classy wit and waspish repartee, he skilfully banishes theatricality by taking the action out of the salon and into the bustling beauty of the Amalfi coast. The result may be reminiscent of The Talented Mr Ripley and A Room With A View, but it's still a classy diversion that, like Bright Young Things before it, evokes a bygone age of deliciously divine decadence.