Dorian Gray (2009)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Absolutely the worst movie.

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Another adaptation of the Oscar Wilde story. Film is about Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes), a man taken by the hedonism bug shown to him by Lord Wotton (Colin Firth). Upon having his portrait painted, Dorian comes to never age, but at what cost?Clearly not faithful to the literary source, Oliver Parker's film is an interesting misfire. As a sexy chiller it kinda works, having more in common with Hammer Films of the 70s than with Wilde's prose. Yet it often feels like style over substance, blood or nudity for blood and nudity's sake. While strong performances by Firth and late in the play by Rebecca Hall hold the attention, Barnes is bland and apart from being pretty, is unconvincing. Also irritating is Charlie Mole's musical score, it's good, it's just not in the right movie!The makers try to make a Gothic horror film from a Gothic horror novel, but never quite get to grips with the undercurrents of the story. Shame. 5/10

WOW I cannot believe the rating on this film at IMDb - it's lower than I expected it to be. And several negative comments about it too yet I do find others that enjoyed the movie as much as I did, giving it good reviews.I personally liked this Gothic version of Dorian Gray - well acted out and the scenery and sets are beautiful! As far as the story goes - I very much liked it. I realize there are changes from the book which is nothing unusual. So many films are different from the book and yes sometimes criticized harshly for the changes OR they are praised for it.Ben Barnes is a nice looking man in my opinion. That is just a matter of personal preference as to if you think someone is nice looking or not. Not everyone will agree on who is the perfect man to play Dorian Gray. So those that review this movie and bash Ben Barnes' looks should think twice - and remember that everyone will not agree on who is "good looking" enough for this role! The truth is NO ONE is.... NO ONE is so good looking and charming that they can seduce almost anyone -- that's the fantasy and fiction aspect of this fictional story! The movie is very good and should not be dismiss as bad because some people didn't like the film. Simply watch it an judge for yourselves.10/10

Dorian Gray is the sort of film that receives a lot of hype at its release, including the promising new acting talent, and then quickly vanishes into obscurity, in this case taking the 'promising new acting talent' with it, never to be seen again.Both, the film and Ben Barnes, clearly failed to live up to people's expectations. Nothing against Ben Barnes personally, he may be a good actor but talented is something else. Good looks just aren't enough. I don't want to go into too much detail here about how it's not the most faithful adaptation of the novel, etc., but watching Dorian Gray you get the impression they were trying to come up with a fresh interpretation of Oscar Wilde's famous novel, but didn't quite know how to go about it.The one thing keeping this film from being a total let-down is Colin Firth (no surprises there), although it has to be said that his performance is a bit more lacklustre than we're used to. Still, he hopelessly out-acts everybody, most of all Ben Barnes. The kid just doesn't stand a chance. Colin Firth has the only script worth mentioning, although his character's pretentious one-liners do start to grate half-way though the film. Other than Firth there is nothing in or about this film that stands out, or makes it a worthwhile exercise.In a nutshell: it's bland, it's boring and it does test your patience on a few occasions. Dorian Gray is not the kind of film you should have seen at some point in your life. If you have, chances are you'll have liked it, but are in no rush to see it again any time in the foreseeable future ... or, indeed, ever. It's the kind of film you want to watch relaxing on an evening, without having to think too much, and then feeling afterwards that you should've watched something else instead. It leaves you strangely dissatisfied.Worth a look but ultimately leaves you wondering, 'why did they bother?'

Some critics seem to bash on this flick comparing to the novel. I personally thought it was a pretty decent movie and had enough substance to carry the movie with some good dark atmosphere going for it. The moral of the novel basically came down to the difference between pleasures and happiness. And it did a pretty good job of visually showing that in this movie. Ben Barnes or Prince Caspian who I think Hollywood is trying to sale as the next Johnny Depp is alright as Dorian Gray. He needs more better acting chops but he fit the look and change in character well. Colin Firth in this plays Henry Wotton, who claims the only thing in life worth having is youth and beauty. And is basically the tempter who drives Dorian Gray into madness. The novel also had to do with the inner nature of men and how a lot of people tend to wear masks because they are too afraid to show who we really are. In this case the ugliness of Dorian Gray begins to show in a painting drawn of him. Even if he stays forever young and handsome in his outward appearance he is rotting in the inside. Which I thought was pretty unique when it came to the novel, since in today's society. The outward appearance means more in the human eyes than what is underneath. Again if you constantly compare this flick to the book you will probably be disappointed. But if you look at this flick as just a adaptation that focuses a lot on the visuals but also has some substance to back it up. You just might enjoy it. But it's not a faithful adaptation from the novel.7.3/10