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First Release Date: Sep 9, 2009
US DVD Release Date: Aug 24, 2010
Format Reviewed: US DVD release
Starring: Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Caroline Goodall, Emilia Fox
Writer: Oscar Wilde (story) / Toby Finlay (screenplay)
Directed By: Oliver Parker
Genre: Horror/Supernatural
Rated: R
Review Rating: 8/10
A new vision of Oscar Wilde's iconic tale of a young and powerful Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes), who moves to London to inherit his father's estate. Upon arrival, he quickly makes friends with London's elite and attracts the attention of an up and coming artist. This artist creates a portrait of Dorian over which Dorian offers his soul in exchange for eternal beauty. Dorian's lifestyle spirals downwards into more and more debauchery, all the while the painting changes instead of the man.
Trailer:
Oscar Wilde's story has been adapted for film several times in the past. Of those, the one this reviewer is most fond of is "The Picture of Dorian Gray", released in 1945 and starring Hurd Hatfield as Dorian Gray. This newest telling of the story sees a more modern take on the story. The lifestyle that Dorian leads in this version is more focused on taboos than on outright criminal behavior.
Throughout the movie, Dorian is introduced to more and more of London's seedy side of life and with each introduction, Dorian finds a new pleasure to indulge in. Ben Barnes puts in a great performance as Dorian Gray and makes the viewer truly believe in the character. Colin Firth's performance as Lord Henry Wotton allows the viewer to see ourselves watching Dorian, sometimes in disgust and sometimes wishing we could have a painting of our own.
This is a great movie and it does Oscar Wilde's story justice. Rich environments, fantastic costumes, awesome effects and brilliant storytelling all combine to make this a great horror movie. An intelligent movie portraying Oscar Wilde's own view on the world, lived through the life of his character, Dorian Gray. They both lived like rockstars of their day.
