Review of "Dorian Gray" by Oliver Parker, and confront
with "The picture of Dorian Gray" By Oscar Wild
"Dorian Gray" is a
movie based on Oscar Wild's novel, "The picture of Dorian Gray", and it tells
the story of a young aristocratic London's guy. Dorian, it is his name, obtains immortality thanks to a
portrait and he starts to wander in search
of any more unbridled pleasure. But his search, after a momentary pleasure,
leads him increasingly to corruption.
London,
Victorian Age. A young man, Dorian Gray, is just returned at his native
country, after the death of his last relative. So, alone with a great heritage, he is swept into the
social whirlwind by the charismatic Lord Henry Wotton, who introduces Dorian to
the hedonistic pleasures of the city. Henry's friend, the famous painter Basil
Hallward, paints a portrait of Dorian to capture the full power of his youthful
beauty. When the portrait is unveiled, Dorian, corrupted
by the pleasures shown by Henry and by his speeches, says that he would have given up his soul in order to remain forever
young like the portrait. So, Dorian meets and fells in love with a young
actress, Sibyl Vane. But when the girl is left by a Dorian increasingly
cynical and corrupted, she kills herself. Dorian initial grief disappears as
Henry persuades him that all events are mere experiences and without
consequences, and his hedonistic lifestyle worsens, distancing him from Basil.
Dorian goes home, where finds his portrait warped and realises that his pledge
has come true; all his sins, all his physical defects and all his years, modify
the canvas while he remains ever young e
handsome. The chaos of the picture of Dorian Gray starts, leading him to kill
Basil after that the painter sees what his portrait does. Having left London to travel for some years, Dorian returns and
fells in love with Henry's daughter, Emily, despite Henry's distaste for such a
relationship based on Dorian's lifestyle.
Dorian, with his new love story, and remembering what he did in the
past, he realizes that he wants to change his life, running away with Emily.
But in the while Henry studies old photographs, and he catches the
secret of Dorian. So Henry goes to Dorian's house where he find the portrait.
Then arrives Dorian and next Emily. In the subsequent confrontation between the
two men, the portrait catches on fire, Dorian sends Henry and Emily out of the
house and he lets himself burn with the portrait.
As I have said
before, the movie is referred to the homonymous book, but from it there are
lots differences. For example the beginning and the ending are totally
different: The novel starts with Henry who is seeing Basil painting Dorian, and
not with the arriving in London of the young man. Then in the ending there
isn't all the part about Dorian and Emily's love-story. Another difference is
Dorian's love story with Sibyl, that in the novel is more developed, with a
deeper introspection of Sibyl figure and life. But What I have suffered more is
the cut of almost all the monologues of Henry about life and beauty, that I
think are the real substance of the story.
I really don't enjoy
this film , because it is too different from the book whose name it bears. Then
I don't like the director's choice of focus too much and too much times on sex
scenes, rather than giving space to the thoughts of the characters.
[ Picolo appunti ]
