In a presentation during class this week, the trailer for the 2009 movie Dorian Gray was shown. It looked interesting, so I decided to watch it to compare it to the book for the blog this week. And boy was I surprised.
First off, this movie is rated R for a reason. It is a little gory, but mainly super sexual. I should have expected that because of the nature of the book itself, but I was still taken aback. Second, I wasn't expecting the movie to be exactly like the boo, but it turned out to be very loosely based off of the novel. The characters were the same, and the plot had the same basic concept, but there were a few key parts that were oddly different.
The novel actually shows Basil painting Dorian Gray, whereas in the book it does not. Also, the painting was put on display to the public in Dorian's house for a period of time before he puts it away. The portrait seemed super grotesque too. In the novel, I did not imagine it actually lifelike and moving, whereas in the movie where were maggots seeping out of his eyes and one could see the changes as they occurred. In the movie, the man in the portrait did not only grow old, but seemed to sort of decay.
Dorian Gray's relationship with Sibyl in the movie also differs from that of the book. He still falls in love with her for her acting, and they get engaged very quickly after meeting each other. However, they break up for an extremely different reason. in the book, Dorian claims that he does not like her anymore because she was no longer a good actress. in the movie, he gets kind of freaked out because she wants children, and she accuses him of cheating on her (which he did with Lord Henry's help). She yelled at him for going to the club with the women, and he leaves frustrated and angry. The next morning Jim Vane comes to tell Dorian that Sibyl drowned herself in the river. Another discrepancy in the movie is Jim (or James) Vane; instead of being accidentally shot like in the novel, Dorian kills him on railroad tracks.
One final, major, differing point is the relationship between Basil and Dorian. In the book, Wilde alludes to homosexual relations with Lord Henry and Dorian, and Lord Henry and Basil fight over Dorian's affections. However, the movie is very different. It actually shows Dorian seducing Basil, and them kissing each other, and conveniently cutting to the next scene right before they have some sort of sexual relation. This was quite surprising, and Dorian uses his sexual power over Basil to manipulate him.
Overall, I the plot was the same: the idea of the portrait aging while Dorian stays young. He still kills Basil in the movie, Sibyl kills herself, Dorian turns to temptations, and Dorian ends up killing himself when he stabs the portrait, and the characters' personalities are accurate. But the details are not the same, including the actual name of the movie: Dorian Gray versus The Picture of Dorian Gray.
I really liked how you incorporated the pop cultural references in your post as well as incorporate the differences between the book version and the film adapted version. I’ve never seen the film adaptation of the book, but based on what you explained here it seems as though they are very similar in plotline. One thing I would like to know is the difference in experiences between watching a modern version and reading the book. Are there different themes a viewer could touch upon by watching the film that they could otherwise not experience with the book? The elaboration you gave regarding Basil helped me compose this question.
ReplyDeleteColleen, thanks for posting about the film, which most of us haven't seen. It sounds as though the film sensationalizes some parts of the book, but, with Max, I wonder whether the film touches on the same themes.
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