The twenty-year-old Dorian Gray arrives in London after inheriting his recently deceased uncle's mansion. Soon, the ingenuous Dorian turns to the teachings of Lord Henry Wotton, who introduces him to the pleasures of life and encourages him to adopt the philosophy of 'carpe diem.' Dorian is invited to pose for a portrait by the painter Basil Hallward; fascinated by his own painted image, Dorian wishes he could remain young and beautiful forever, and, as if by magic, his wish comes true. It is the painting that accumulates the wrinkles of age and the decay of Dorian's soul, while his body remains that of a twenty-year-old.
Among feature films for cinema, home video, and TV series episodes, the character of Dorian Gray has had at least twenty different faces, from Hurd Hatfield in 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' (1945) to Stuart Townsend in 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' (2003), passing through Helmut Berger of 'The God Called Dorian' (1970). In recent years, an incredible amount of adaptations of Oscar Wilde's work has strangely flooded the market, hinting at a renewed interest in the character created by the mind of the noted Irish writer, which could well be read as a presage of the imminent arrival of a more production-heavy feature film. And indeed, directly from Great Britain and under the direction of Wilde specialist Oliver Parker ('An Ideal Husband'; 'The Importance of Being Earnest'), 'Dorian Gray' hits the big screen.
This time, the face of the young man with the corrupted soul belongs to the twenty-eight-year-old Ben Barnes, known to the public for playing Prince Caspian in the second chapter (and soon also the third) of 'The Chronicles of Narnia.' Barnes is not an actor with great experience and does not have absolute stage mastery; he is awkward and immature, and this is noticeable in every one of his appearances. However, Barnes works; he has the physique du role to play Gray, and, despite the results, it is also noticeable that the effort on his part is complete. Not a perfect Dorian but still an appreciable Dorian, perhaps one of the few so far to appear credible in the condition of innocence and ingenuity that precedes the initiation and corruption effected by Lord Wotton, since most of the actors who have so far played Dorian Gray had a pirate-like appearance even before discovering the power of the painting.
In general, Parker's work can be considered successful and appreciable both for the general spectator and for the connoisseur of the literary work of inspiration. Despite some liberties taken by screenwriter Toby Finlay, the film is rather faithful to the novel and manages to recreate some of its atmospheres that focus on the moral decay of the protagonist and, by reflection, of English society at the end of the 1880s. What Parker fails to give his work, however, is a specific personality and a true filmic rhythm: what he pays in respect to the source does not create any advantage for him on the purely cinematic level. 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' is a particular novel, very descriptive and strongly metaphorical, difficult to adapt into cinematic form while remaining faithful to the written work, and indeed the film, which aims to be faithful, proves to be at times boring, struggles to capture the spectator, and appears as a cold and distant work. It must be said, however, that perhaps this sensation of detachment and coldness is partly intended, since the same photography by Roger Pratt tends to enhance dark and sometimes glacial tones, giving the film a visually recherché coloration that is sometimes dark and sometimes solar.
The story of 'Dorian Gray,' it is known, is rather audacious and should focus heavily on eroticism to explain the growth of the protagonist in his journey of immorality, from a clean-shaven and ingenuous young man to a violator of young girls and a seducer of mature women and men. Parker rightly does not shy away from this perspective, but the staging of eroticism in this film is among the most awkward seen recently in a feature film. Every embrace, every pile-up, every minimal hint at the dimension of sex is resolved timidly with a couple of shots that scream with concern 'I would but I cannot.' A strange and questionable choice, given that we are dealing with a product clearly for adults that would have certainly benefited from a pinch of morbidity and explicitness more than what was shown.
To its credit, this 'Dorian Gray' really emphasizes the more horror aspects of the story. There are abundant macabre details linked to the transformation of the painting and the dreams/remorse that torment Dorian, and there are also unexpected bursts of violence that easily lead to splatter details. But what brings 'Dorian Gray' closest to the horror universe is the final climax, a well-conceived confrontation/clash between Dorian and his 'soul' that stands out especially for the visual rendering of the scene.
The scenario is completed by a whole series of good English actors who fill the scene, and it is worth mentioning Colin Firth ('Mamma Mia!'; 'Girl with a Pearl Earring') as Lord Wotton and Ben Chaplin ('Lost Souls – The Prophecy'; 'Birthday Girl') as Basil.
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