The Importance Of Being Earnest (2002) Judi Dench Lady Bracknell Colin Firth Jack Worthing, Ernest Reese Witherspoon Cecily Cardew Rupert Everett Algernon Moncrieff, 'Algy' Frances O Connor Gwendolyn Fairfax Tom Wilkinson Dr. Chasuble Anna Massey Miss Prism Edward Fox Lane Patrick Godfrey Merriman Charles Kay Gribsby Cyril Shaps Pew Opener Marsha Fitzalan (II) Dowager Finty Williams (II) Young Lady Bracknell Guy Bensley Young Lord Bracknell Christina Robert Duchess of Devonshire Directed by: Oliver Parker Produced by: Uri Fruchtmann, Robert Jones, Barnaby Thompson Two young gentlemen living in 1890's England use the same pseudonym on the sly, which is fine until they fall in love with women using that name, which leads to a comedy of mistaken identities. ========== Two young gentlemen living in 1890's England use the same pseudonym ("Ernest") on the sly, which is fine until they both fall in love with women using that name, which leads to a comedy of mistaken identities. ========== Whenever Jack Worthing slips away to London from his Hertfordshire estate he says he is going to see his (fictitious) wayward brother Ernest. Once there he keeps his privacy by calling himself Ernest - luckily so as his beloved Gwendolen declares she could only love an Ernest. Her cousin Algy is the one person who knows Jack's secret and one day he travels down to the estate, announcing himself to Jack's attractive ward Cecily as bad brother Ernest. Cecily is much taken with him and with his name, so on Jack's return home and Gwendoen's unexpectedly arrival it becomes clear there are both too many and too few Ernests earnestly courting. ========== Two young gentlemen living in 1890's England have taken to bending the truth in order to put some excitement into their lives. Jack Worthing has invented a brother, Earnest, whom he uses as an excuse to leave his dull country life behind to visit the ravishing Gwendolyn. Algy Montcrieff decided to take the name 'Earnest' when visiting Worthing's young and beautiful ward, Cecily at the country manor. Things start to go awry when they end up together in country and their deceptions are discovered - threatening to spoil their romantic pursuits.