''Dorian Gray'' is a 2009 British dark fantasy horror film based on Oscar Wilde's 1890 novel ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical '' Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''The Picture of Dorian G ...

'', directed by

Oliver Parker Oliver Parker (born 6 September 1960) is a British film director, screenwriter and former actor. He is known for writing and directing the film adaptations of Shakespeare's '' Othello'' (1995) and Wilde's '' The Importance of Being Earnest'' (20 ...

, and written by Toby Finlay (his first screenplay). The film stars Ben Barnes, Colin Firth,

Rebecca Hall Rebecca Maria Hall (born 3 May 1982) is an English actress and filmmaker. She made her first onscreen appearance at age 10 in the 1992 television adaptation of '' The Camomile Lawn'', directed by her father, Sir Peter Hall. Her professional s ...

Ben Chaplin Ben Chaplin (born Benedict John Greenwood; 31 July 1969)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in films, including ''The Truth About Cats & Dogs' ...

Emilia Fox Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox (born 31 July 1974) is an English actress and presenter whose film debut was in Roman Polanski's film '' The Pianist''. Her other films include the Italian–French–British romance-drama film '' The Soul Keeper'' (2 ...

, and

Rachel Hurd-Wood Rachel Clare Hurd-Wood (born 17 August 1990) is an English actress, best known for her film roles as Wendy Darling in ''Peter Pan'' (2003) and more recently for her television role as Rachel Maddox in ''Clique'' (2017–2018). Early life Backg ...

. It tells the story of the title character, an attractive Englishman whose loveliness and spirit are captured in an enchanted painting that keeps him from aging. His portrait becomes further tainted with every sin he commits while he remains young and handsome. ''Dorian Gray'' was released in the United Kingdom on 9 September 2009, by

Momentum Pictures Momentum Pictures is a film distributor and a subsidiary of Entertainment One, itself part of Hasbro. Prior to 2013, it was a brand of Canadian distributor Alliance Films used for its releases in the United Kingdom, and was one of the leading in ...

, having competed in the Official Fantàstic Competition at the 2009 Sitges Film Festival."Line Up :: Official Fantàstic In Competition Selection"
Sitges Film Festival. 9 May 2009.

Plot

When a naive young Dorian Gray arrives in Victorian London to inherit an estate left to him by his abusive grandfather, he is swept into a social whirlwind by the charismatic Lord Henry "Harry" Wotton, who introduces Gray to the

hedonistic Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decre ...

pleasures of the city. Lord Henry's friend, society artist Basil Hallward, paints a

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

of Gray to capture his beauty. Gray makes a flippant pledge: he would give anything to stay as he is in the picture—even his soul. Gray falls in love with budding young actress, Sibyl Vane, and proposes marriage. Lord Henry tells Gray that having children is "the beginning of the end", and after the two men visit a brothel, Gray leaves Sibyl. Heartbroken, the young woman commits suicide by drowning. Gray learns of her death from her brother, James ("Jim"), who reveals that Sybil was pregnant with Gray's child. Enraged, Jim tries to kill Gray before being carried off by the authorities. Gray's initial grief soon disappears as Lord Henry persuades him that all events are mere experiences and without consequence. His hedonistic lifestyle worsens, distancing him from a concerned Hallward. Gray finds that Hallward's portrait of him has become warped and twisted, and realises that his off-hand pledge has come true; while the portrait ages, its owner's sins manifest as physical defects on the canvas. This results in Hallward's brutal murder after the artist reveals his secret. Gray dismembers and dumps Hallward's body in the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, but the remains are recovered and buried. Gray decides to travel the world and invites Lord Henry, but he declines, citing his wife's pregnancy. After a 25-year absence, Gray stuns everyone at the welcoming party with his unchanged youthful appearance. He becomes close to Lord Henry's daughter, Emily, a member of the UK suffragette movement, much to her father's disapproval. Although Gray appears interested in changing his ways for Emily, matters are complicated when he is confronted by Jim. Jim is killed by an oncoming train while pursuing Gray in the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

. As Gray makes arrangements to leave London with Emily, Lord Henry's suspicions are confirmed when a study of old photographs triggers a memory where Gray had suggested that he would exchange his soul in return for eternal youth and beauty. Lord Henry discovers the concealed portrait and Basil's blood-stained scarf. Gray declares that he is the personification of the life Lord Henry had fantasised about. Gray attempts to strangle Lord Henry but Lord Henry knocks him aside and exposes the portrait. Horrified at the twisted sight on the canvas, Lord Henry sets it alight and locks the attic to ensure that Gray and the painting are destroyed. Gray confesses his love for Emily and turns his back as Lord Henry drags his daughter out of the burning mansion. Resolving to end his suffering, Gray impales the painting with a poker, causing his body to age rapidly before the attic is consumed by an explosion. A few months later, following a futile attempt to reconcile with Emily, Lord Henry, with his face partially burned, heads to his attic where he keeps the portrait of Gray as it was when Hallward painted it, grimly noting that nobody will look at it now. The portrait's eyes glow, implying that Gray's restless essence still resides within the painting, even after the destruction of his physical self.

Cast

Supporting parts are played by

Pip Torrens Philip D'Oyly "Pip" Torrens (born 2 June 1960) is an English actor. Known for playing urbane, authoritative figures, Torrens portrayed courtier Tommy Lascelles in the Netflix drama ''The Crown'', aristocrat Lord Massen in the HBO series ''Th ...

as Victor, Gray's valet;

Jo Woodcock Jo Woodcock (born 9 September 1988) is an English actress. Although active since 2000, Woodcock came into prominence following her critically acclaimed performances as Alice in the television drama '' Torn'' in 2007, and as Liza-Lu Durbeyfield i ...

as Lord and Lady Radley's daughter Celia;

Max Irons Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons (born 17 October 1985) is an English-Irish actor and model. He is known for his roles in films such as ''Red Riding Hood'' (2011), '' The White Queen'' (2013), '' The Host'' (2013), '' Woman in Gold'' (2014), ''Th ...

as Lucius, a young man whom Gray assaults at a party for touching the key to the attic door;

David Sterne David Sterne (born 1946) is an English actor. He has appeared in more than 90 films since 1973. After leaving the British Army, Sterne trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company ...

as the theatre manager who first introduces Gray to Sibyl; and

Douglas Henshall Douglas “Dougie” James Henshall (born 19 November 1965) is a Scottish television, film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Professor Nick Cutter in the science fiction series '' Primeval'' (2007–2011) and Detective Inspect ...

as Alan Campbell, an acquaintance of Gray's who is present when Jim Vane tries to strangle Gray.

Production

The film began shooting in summer 2008 at

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

and locations across London and finished in October. The film received £500,000 of National Lottery funding via the

UK Film Council The UK Film Council (UKFC) was a non-departmental public body set up in 2000 to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee, owned by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and ...

's Premiere Fund.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. , the film holds an approval rating of 44% on film review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 39 reviews with an average rating of 5/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Despite a lavish and polished production, ''Dorian Gray'' is tame and uninspired with a lifeless performance by Ben Barnes in the title role."

References

External links