Dorian Gray
Dorian Gray 2009
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Having never read the novel by Oscar Wilde, and having no clear idea what the film was about going into it, I was going into "Dorian Gray" with an open mind. I knew from seeing trailers that the film was about a man trading his soul to the devil for eternal youth, but apart from that, I had done no further reading on it and hadn't read any reviews. This was the first time that I had seen or even heard of, for that matter, Ben Barnes. I haven't seen "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" so this is the first time I've ever seen him in a film. I though that he portrayed Dorian Gray very well and provided an excellent performance. He was backed by a superior performance from Colin Firth ("Mamma Mia!"). After seeing this film, I look forward to seeing the other two popular adaptations made in 1945 and 1970; but most of all, I look forward to reading the novel at some point.
Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes), a naive, handsome young man, arrives in London where he grew up, and looks happy to be home. Lord Harry Watton (Colin Firth) takes him under his wing, as Dorian is now the wealthy owner of his late grandfather's estate. Watton introduces Dorian to the grim underworld of London, in the whorehouses and bars where Watton is well known and respected by everyone. An artist, Basil Hallword (Ben Chaplin), is amazed by Dorian's great looks and offers painting a portrait of him, which Dorian accepts. The portrait is complete, and Dorian and Basil become the talk of London. While admiring the portrait, Dorian absently states to Harry that he would trade his soul in order to remain the way that he looks in the painting. Dorian meets a young woman named Sybil (Rachel Hard-Wood) who he falls in love with. But before they can get married, Dorian pushes her aside and continues with his crazy life style of pleasure. Sybil is heart-broken, and she kills herself. This messes Dorian up a little, and he suddenly begins to see strange markings on his painting so he stores it away from the public eye. After a series of events, he leaves London, and returns 20 years later. Everyone is astonished when they see him – he hasn't aged a bit. What is Dorian's secret?, they all wonder. Forever young may seem very tempting, but Dorian soon begins to hate it and wishes to take it back, because he is, as the tagline goes, forever young and forever cursed.
Oliver Parker's adaptation of "The Picture of Dorian Gray", you could say, owes a great deal to the directing of the great Tim Burton, as the sets and decoration is reminiscent of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". True, they all depict late 19th century London, and both do so very well. But not only is it the set and decoration, but also in terms of story and the actors, and Ben Barnes really does look like Johnny Depp in this! Now, I'm not referring to the story as in from Oscar Wilde's part, I'm referring to the screenplay by Toby Finlay. There is nothing wrong with it, however. It's a very well told story and I really look forward to reading the novel. But it really has a Burton type feel to it and you can't help but wonder if perhaps he had some part in the film. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought that I was watching a Tim Burton movie. Parker directs it very well. He previously directed "St. Trinians", and to fans of "Hellraiser", he was one of the two moving men in the film at the beginning.
Ben Barnes and Colin Firth are excellent in this, and they are supported by brilliant supporting performances from the entire cast which includes Rachel Hard-Wood from "An American Haunting" and Ben Chaplin from "The Thin Red Line".
The film creates a creepy, nihilistic atmosphere that it successfully sustains for the most part. I love the way that it's never really said why Dorian never seems to age, even though we all know. I seem to be alone in this as many complain that the film had very little to no emphasis on the scene where Dorian says that he would trade his soul in order to remain the way that he does in the picture.
"Dorian Gray" is a great film, despite some flaws, that is creepy, and overall one of the best Gothic horror films that we've had in a while. Ben Barnes and Colin Firth are brilliant in the two leading roles and Parker directs it really well.
Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes), a naive, handsome young man, arrives in London where he grew up, and looks happy to be home. Lord Harry Watton (Colin Firth) takes him under his wing, as Dorian is now the wealthy owner of his late grandfather's estate. Watton introduces Dorian to the grim underworld of London, in the whorehouses and bars where Watton is well known and respected by everyone. An artist, Basil Hallword (Ben Chaplin), is amazed by Dorian's great looks and offers painting a portrait of him, which Dorian accepts. The portrait is complete, and Dorian and Basil become the talk of London. While admiring the portrait, Dorian absently states to Harry that he would trade his soul in order to remain the way that he looks in the painting. Dorian meets a young woman named Sybil (Rachel Hard-Wood) who he falls in love with. But before they can get married, Dorian pushes her aside and continues with his crazy life style of pleasure. Sybil is heart-broken, and she kills herself. This messes Dorian up a little, and he suddenly begins to see strange markings on his painting so he stores it away from the public eye. After a series of events, he leaves London, and returns 20 years later. Everyone is astonished when they see him – he hasn't aged a bit. What is Dorian's secret?, they all wonder. Forever young may seem very tempting, but Dorian soon begins to hate it and wishes to take it back, because he is, as the tagline goes, forever young and forever cursed.
Oliver Parker's adaptation of "The Picture of Dorian Gray", you could say, owes a great deal to the directing of the great Tim Burton, as the sets and decoration is reminiscent of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". True, they all depict late 19th century London, and both do so very well. But not only is it the set and decoration, but also in terms of story and the actors, and Ben Barnes really does look like Johnny Depp in this! Now, I'm not referring to the story as in from Oscar Wilde's part, I'm referring to the screenplay by Toby Finlay. There is nothing wrong with it, however. It's a very well told story and I really look forward to reading the novel. But it really has a Burton type feel to it and you can't help but wonder if perhaps he had some part in the film. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought that I was watching a Tim Burton movie. Parker directs it very well. He previously directed "St. Trinians", and to fans of "Hellraiser", he was one of the two moving men in the film at the beginning.
Ben Barnes and Colin Firth are excellent in this, and they are supported by brilliant supporting performances from the entire cast which includes Rachel Hard-Wood from "An American Haunting" and Ben Chaplin from "The Thin Red Line".
The film creates a creepy, nihilistic atmosphere that it successfully sustains for the most part. I love the way that it's never really said why Dorian never seems to age, even though we all know. I seem to be alone in this as many complain that the film had very little to no emphasis on the scene where Dorian says that he would trade his soul in order to remain the way that he does in the picture.
"Dorian Gray" is a great film, despite some flaws, that is creepy, and overall one of the best Gothic horror films that we've had in a while. Ben Barnes and Colin Firth are brilliant in the two leading roles and Parker directs it really well.
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