Movie review – The Picture of Dorian Grey

As an avid reader since I was able to first recognize printed characters, I always had a soft spot for Oscar Wilde. So when I heard that the Vancouver Queer Film Festival was showing a re-invention of Wilde’s famous novel, “The Picture of Dorian Gray“, I jumped at the opportunity. My friend Nomade Moderne was kind enough to join me (even though we had to do the Hope Line and cross our fingers that we were going to be able to get tickets, as it was sold out).

This reinvention has the charming and endearing David Gallagher (from 7th Heaven fame) portraying Dorian Gray. Gallagher did an amazing job at portraying the new-era Dorian Gray, and I strongly believe he tested his own limits during this movie. He really seemed to have grasped the character of Dorian Gray. Directed by Duncan Roy, the movie is challenging in many ways.

The movie asks the viewer to understand the motives beneath Dorian’s cruel actions and to see the world through his eyes. The cinematic techniques in this movie (including flashbacks, intertwined stories, story-telling) are complex and this wouldn’t be by any measure a chick flick. But I think it’s beautifully realized and I commend both Roy for doing such a fine job with the screenplay and the direction and Gallagher for his amazing job as Dorian Gray.

I wasn’t able to find a clip of the actual movie, but you can see an interview with Duncan Roy and David Gallagher at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (courtesy of YouTube and dgresource).