The latest adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s spooky morality fable owes at least as much to Twilight and Hammer Studios as it does to the unfairly persecuted writer. In addition to shifting the action a few decades into the future – the Great War has come and gone before our preening hero gets his comeuppance – there are orgies that might have been designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier and big gothic dollops of Diagon Alley brand Victoriana.
If, like us, you like your wenches saucy, your ragamuffins filthy and your libertines insatiable, then this enjoyably campy romp is sure to float your boat. Ben Barnes’ impossibly pretty Dorian is far more sympathetic than his cinematic predecessors. More corrupted than corrupting, he sells his soul almost accidentally, embraces depravity as a means of obliterating guilt and pain and isn’t even particularly narcissistic or preening.
The central conceit – his portrait ages, he stays youthful – marries CGI to old school bits from the butchers. It’s enough to make a nervy teenage girl say ‘Ew’ but not so much that she’s need to duck behind her seat. This is, after all, the target audience. The film’s promotional campaign has worked hard to cast Mr. Barnes, who previously did good work as the title character in Prince Caspian, as this year’s Robert Pattinson. Don’t let that put you off. Like Mr. Pattinson, the Dorian Gray star, has more going on than boy band good looks.
The young actor is more than a match for Colin Firth who has an absolute ball playing Lord Henry Wotton, the caustic armchair philosopher who leads poor Dorian astray.
Director Oliver Parker has been down this road before, having already brought The Importance Of Being Earnest And An Ideal Husband to the big screen. But this is the first time his passion for Wilde has translated into properly infectious, trashy fun.