DORIAN GRAY FILM REVIEW
Parker Paints a Lusty Picture of the Life of Mr. Gray
RATING: 3/5
Director: Oliver Parker
Released: 9 September, 2009
Cast: Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Ben Chaplin, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Rebecca Hall
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‘People die of common sense, Dorian, one lost moment at a time. Life is a moment, there is no hereafter. So make it burn, always, with the hardest flame’.
These are the infamous words spoken by Lord Henry which compel a young Dorian Gray to undergo a journey of self-discovery and corruption in a decadent London. Dorian may well be burning the candle at both ends, but Dorian’s candle has no expiry date, and this is the crucial paradox of Dorian’s existence; how can he possibly continue to live with such passion when he has experienced everything?
The Film ‘Dorian Gray’, which was released in 2009, is based on the famous novel of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Director, Oliver Parker, works hard to keep with the original story line, but when he does alter the narrative, it does not necessarily have a negative effect on the film.
The story opens with a dark, oppressive scene; Dorian, played by Ben Barnes, is hurriedly stowing some ominous contents into his engraved trunk before dumping the trunk into the river. We are immediately immersed into the storyline, and the gothic style and thrilling atmosphere in this scene lays the foundation of excitement, mystery and intrigue that can be expected for the rest of the movie.
The plot then twists, taking us to the main storyline and introducing us to 1890s London, through the zoom out of a close up shot of the very same trunk that we saw Dorian dumping into the river, immediately engaging the viewer.
Sweeping camera pans and landscape shots capture the grandeur of early London society and the anticipation of a poverty-stricken city on the verge of war. London is littered with beggars, prostitutes and all manners of crime; Parker effortlessly immerses you in the culture of the time with such an enriched background scene.
We soon discover that Dorian is an orphaned gentleman of questionable background and has just inherited his grandfather’s grand estate; a house haunted with bad memories of Dorian’s elusive upbringing. Rather unfortunately, however, the importance of these constant flashbacks that Dorian has of his abused childhood, are never properly acknowledged in the storyline.
Together with the help of the calm, stubbornly uncompromising and sexually stunted painter that is Basil Howard (played by Ben Chaplin), and the notorious Lord Henry: a mischievous and controversial man, played by Colin Firth: Dorian is reintroduced into London society.
The characters of Henry and Basil seem to constantly be at odds with one another, and yet they retain an intimacy in their competitive relationship. Colin Firth, who plays the majestic Lord Henry, constantly reminded me of the renowned Mark Darcy, a role I fear he may never escape the clutches of. This takes some of the atmosphere away from the storyline; however his transformation from the mischievous debonair and bad husband into proud father is believable and well-performed.
Ben Chaplin’s character seemed to be the most moral figurehead of the film, and if I may be so blunt, delivered the most convincing performance in the film. Also, to prevent, Basil’s character from becoming terribly boring, Parker inflicts an air of suggested homosexuality to the lonely, single, Basil. This is something that we really see Chaplin embrace; his character becomes increasingly uncomfortable with his desires, eventually rendering all of his scenes with Dorian so intense that something terribly dramatic must happen in order to provide cathartic relief.
Inevitably Barnes’ character finds love in an unlikely host; the fresh-faced Rachel Hurd-Wood who plays the character of Sibyl Vane. There do appear to be many flaws in the performance of this relationship; the first that Hurd-Wood’s acting doesn’t quite live up to the idealised standard; Hurd-Wood plays innocent and alluring very well, but as this warped, gothic storyline calls for more than this, she fell short a few hurdles. When we believe that we are supposed to be seeing love and distress in her eyes, there only appears to be doe-eyed shock.
The second flaw is that the relationship, like many others in this film, is not successfully developed, the build up of relationships between characters is a bit jumpy; how is it that Dorian manages to fall mildly in love with someone whom he has only had three exchanges with? It is certainly hard to believe that the two characters have any real connection between them; Hurd-Wood is too reserved whilst Barnes’ actions lack the passion that his words evoke.
Furthermore, how is it that Basil and Henry became to be such good friends when they hold such different views? This issue is never approached, and it makes the relationship that the two men share appear very unstable.
‘Everything is possible for you because you have the only two things worth having, youth and beauty’, and with this premise we embark on a long journey of deceit and lies, sex and scandal and cruel murder, not before Dorian makes a quick stop to barter away his soul. Barnes’ performance of the character of Dorian changing from an innocent naive and hopeful young man, bruised by life and its miseries, into a vain, brutal and ruthless character, rife with the malady of megalomania, warrants a great deal of congratulation. That is not to say that it is perfect; there are certainly still aspects, especially in comparison with Rebecca Hall’s rendition of Emily, which Barnes could improve on.
Oscar Wilde, writer of original text, The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Napoleon Sarony, Wikimedia Commons
As the tale wears on, Dorian’s lifestyle becomes more and more tainted and what at first appears to be an interesting change turns into an overwhelming development in Barnes’ character; ‘the more I look, the more I see’ says Basil whilst he is amidst painting Dorian, and I have to say, I do occasionally wish that the same weren’t quite so true of the movie when it comes to the scenes of sexual liaisons between Dorian and the many women (and men) of his circle of inner gentry. Does this really sum up the refined lifestyles of the late 1890s? Or is parker clinging to his Wildean version of the text? Certainly, Wilde’s original draft was undeniably far more debaucherous than the copy that the publishers ultimately released.
Regrettably, the way that each sex scene becomes slowly more and more perverse in order to highlight Dorian’s descent into the utter damnation of his soul, seems to only serve to portray Dorian as a sex-crazed maniac. One begins to wonder whether he actually has time to do anything else, if he does, we certainly don’t see him doing it.
Perhaps Parker believed that all this sexual behaviour added another metaphorical layer to the narrative, and to a certain extent, it seems to provide a driving force behind the fall of Dorian Gray. However, after Dorian has nothing else to do, the sex scenes become increasingly horrific, almost allowing us to lose sight of what the film is actually about. Eventually, we see that the scenes crescendo into the cold and bloody murder hinted to at the very beginning of the movie, and really, where else could they have led?
The Soundtrack to this feature seems to mix Eastern music and Classical with contemporary orchestral sounds, creating a peculiar fusion that works well to add theatrics but at times creates an atmosphere that is so non-diegetic that it takes the realism away from the storyline, and appears to terminate the emotional connection that the actor of Ben Barnes in particular, works so hard to create between the characters and the audience.
Towards the end of the movie, Parker brings in another element of the early 20th Century, that is not really touched upon in Wilde’s novel; the early events of World War I. Parker’s references are not huge, in truth they are simply just casual allusions in the words of characters; ‘you’d do well on the front line, fighting with the German’s’ says Henry’s daughter, Emily, a character that provides another plot development that is very dissimilar to the original concept. The character of Emily also helps uphold Parker’s ability to build a relationship on the screen, but only to a certain extent; that damage has already been done. Parker’s reference is well-brushed upon here, making it more familiar to a modern audience.
All in all, ‘Dorian Gray’ is a movie that is definitely worth a viewing, if only to recount this time old tale that is the story of Dorian Gray.
Barnes successfully portrays the schizophrenic mood swings of a man with no soul, but never seems to fully grasp the passion with which his character acts, especially in his darker scenes. In contrast, Hurd-Wood’s performance of Sibyl leaves a lot to be desired, providing nothing than more than a stark contrast to the character of Emily.
The setting of Ye Olde London is possibly the most realistic bit about ‘Dorian Gray’; the pickpockets, beggars and prostitutes that colour the streets give the movie the culture than the characters don’t whole-heartedly manage to bring to the screen. Were it perhaps possible for Parker to focus a little more closely on the issues of the First World War that his film glances over, it might add an extra layer of meaning to his work, rather than pulling Dorian away from all of the conflict and into his own little world which distances him from the audience in his isolation. But as ‘every experience is a value’, take Lord Henry’s advice and give this movie a watch.