Directed by Oliver Parker. Written by Toby Finlay, based on the 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Starring Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Ben Chaplin, Emilia Fox, Fiona Shaw, Johnny Harris, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Pip Torrens and Rebecca Hall.
Plot: an attractive young man has his beauty and spirit captured in an enchanted painting that keeps him young.
Although this movie was very interesting, I’m entirely glad that I did not watch it with DJ. Geez is it sexual. Some of the most sexual scenes I’ve seen on film. I don’t know, maybe I need to watch more movies. Still, this was something else. The story follows Dorian Gray (Barnes), who comes to London and meets Basil Hallward (Chaplin), an artist and his friend, Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth), an awful man with an awful, hedonistic lifestyle. Being so kind, yet naive, Dorian is soon swept up by temptation.
Even after falling in love with Sybil Vane (Hurd-Wood), who he soon proposes to, Dorian begins to change. Basil paints his portrait and Wotton gets him into drugs and, of course, prostitutes. Sybil isn’t an imbecile though, and she soon catches him in a lie. Later, she kills herself because her fiance is horrible. At first, Dorian is visibly shaken by this, but then he realizes the truth of the painting.
The painting Basil did is now bleeding. When Dorian hurts, he is quickly healed and the painting bleeds in his place. It even manages to take away scars he had gotten years and years earlier. Dorian decides to hide the painting away because after taking on his worst, the portrait begins to look a mess. As a matter of fact, after a bit, the viewer isn’t even shown how bad the painting is becoming.
Eventually, Dorian’s dreadful behavior takes a turn for the even worse. His sexual escapades have him sleep with a young woman, then sleep with her mother while she is hiding under the bed, hearing everything. He even turns to murder when someone close to him recommends destroying the painting. In the end, we do see the painting and it is now decaying and has maggots coming out of it. Yuck.
In the end, which I won’t completely reveal, Wotton’s daughter (Hall) grows up and falls for Dorian which leads to his inevitable demise. I mean, it had to happen. The story is a cautionary tale really. Don’t be narcissistic. Don’t get too big for your britches. Etc. etc. etc. This really made me want to read the novel actually. I didn’t love it, but I liked it. It was a good story with a terrific cast. Ben Barnes and Colin Firth are both incredibly attractive, although Colin acting so disgracefully was not fun to watch.
It is also much more gross than scary. There’s boobs, but there’s almost too many boobs. You’ll see what I mean if you watch it. And if you do watch it, I have to warn you to watch it alone. Or at least not with platonic friends or family you don’t want to talk about sex with. I do recommend seeing it though.
I suppose I could list my favorite movies here, but instead I'll give you a strange glimpse into what makes me TaraRomero.
1. I met George Romero. He was the kindest and sweetest man. He talked to me for longer than he should have with the line getting longer. He also held my hand. And when he noticed the ladybug I have tattooed on my wrist, he said he liked it and asked me it's name. Till then, it had not had a name. Now, I call him George.
2. I love stickers. All stickers. I just adore them. I even ask for stickers for Christmas! As a matter of fact, the birthday that just past, every member of my immediate family gave me sticker packs as gifts. Affordable and extremely appreciated.
3. I have never put much stock in astrology or horoscopes, but I LOVE the magic of the MBTI. Omg. I am an INFP and it actually sounds just like me. Introverted mostly. Creative always. Heart before head and not the most logical. Totally me! For better or worse.
4. It's no surprise I count horror so high up on the list of things that make me, me. However, it's so within my soul that I was part of the Horror Club in college. Interesting bunch. And even took a Horror Lit class as an elective. I got an A.
5. Coffee always makes me happy. Always. I'm particularly fond of caramel macchiatos. But I'll drink black coffee if it's the only thing available.
6. I hate shock for the sake of shock and endings that depress me. I always mention the movies Within (2016) and the Eli Roth produced, written and starred in, Aftershock (2012), as proof of this distate I have. I abhor the idea that just because I like horror, some people think I'd actually praise a movie that lets you think the "Final Girl" just made it through the night, only to slap her in the face with a tsunami.
7. We are big time animal people. I mean, if I could, I'd have an elephant, a bear, a zebra, a penguin, an otter and a meerkat, living with me. Seriously though. We have 2 dogs right now and 2 cats. Both cats we picked up when they each came to our front door hungry. And both dogs we got from 2 different sets of neighbors. Both who, unfortunately, don't know how to care for pets long-term. But they're happy and healthy now!!
8. Revisiting my love of horror, one of the above cats, my cat, is a little black guy named Church. Because Pet Sematary. His middle name is even Pascow. To give credit where credit's due, the name was DJ's idea. But he loves horror too!
9. I'm big into art. Along with movie posters and an Anne Frank quote, I have some actual paintings on my wall. I really think Dali paints beautifully when he wants to. And if I don't get to see Michaelangelo's Pieta in person some day, I will be very disappointed.
10. Lastly, I find Emily Dickinson's poetry intriguing. I took an elective course about her as well. But do you know I injected horror even there? I was given a poem to dissect and I picked one on death, of course. Then, I researched old "Death Photos" and even printed out copies for everyone in the class. They were so interested in looking at them that it stopped them from all looking at me, and I was able to deal quite well with my stage fright. Haha
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