Dorian Gray
2009 · Directed by Oliver Parker
Original language: English
- fantasy
- drama
- thriller
The story
Seduced into the decadent world of Lord Henry Wotton, handsome young aristocrat Dorian Gray becomes obsessed with maintaining his youthful appearance, and commissions a special portrait that will weather the winds of time while he remains forever young. When Gray's obsession spirals out of control, his desperate attempts to safeguard his secret turn his once-privileged life into a living hell.
What it’s like
Rich candlelit interiors and gilded Victorian drawing rooms, with saturated reds and deep greens against shadowy wood panelling, give this a lush, opulent surface that gradually curdles. Camera work is polished and classical, with sweeping tracking moves through ballrooms and close, lingering framing on faces and the painted canvas, while the score leans on swelling strings and a restless undercurrent of dread. The vibe is sumptuous decadence tipping into rot, best suited to a late evening with the lights low or a gothic-leaning double feature. Pacing is measured, building from seductive languor toward a fevered, increasingly claustrophobic final act. Emotionally it follows a charming, self-absorbed young man whose vanity hardens into cruelty, while the people around him are drawn into his orbit and damaged by it. Intensity is moderate: some sexual content and suggestive scenes, a few sharp outbursts of violence, and a grim, unsettling atmosphere rather than gore. It suits viewers who enjoy period melodrama, moral decay, and portraits of obsession, but it is not gentle viewing.
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