Having seen the original movie and now this one I can say that I enjoyed them both for very different reasons. Is it rather lazy of me to admit that I haven’t actually read the book? Maybe I would like the novel even better if the trend of books never translating as well to movies would be believed.
Colin Firth was fabulous in a decidedly un-Darcy like role this time around. Ben Barnes plays Dorian Gray and with that face how can you not feel for his character. The difference between this movie and the original I saw was that I did feel sorry for Dorian this time as you saw his innocence slowly being eroded one decision at a time. You could feel a connection to the character and a compassion to spur him on to fight against his unscrupulous friend. The fight to hold onto his morals is fought in a losing battle. His morality continues to be eroded until depravity becomes the norm and his painting takes on the evidence of his degraded soul. I think also this is where this movie is set apart. It has a story to tell about the effects of your choices. Whereas the original movie I first saw years ago “The Picture of Dorian Gray” was more focused on his beauty this movie seems to highlight more of Dorian’s battle with his soul.
Graphic at times it was wonderfully vibrant in colour and decadence with a story to take away to ponder. 4 out of 5.