This uneasy mixture of horror and elegant wit, which worked so well originally, never really catches fire thanks to Parker’s undistinguished handling.
Comment
11/11/09
Dorian Gray (2010)
47
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:30
Fresh:14
Rotten:16
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: Despite a lavish and polished production, Dorian Gray is tame and uninspired with a lifeless performance by Ben Barnes in the title role.
Synopsis: Oliver Parker has made an impressive career out of directing stylish adaptations of the Oscar Wilde plays THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and AN IDEAL HUSBAND, and now he continues his work with... [More]
Starring: Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Ben Chaplin, Rebecca Hall
Director: Oliver Parker
Reviews for Dorian Gray
Top CriticColin Firth is perfect as the devil’s advocate, as this adaptation of 19th century gothic taps into the modern zeitgeist.
11/11/09
Top CriticIt's a morality tale told through amorality and the pursuit of pleasures of the flesh
11/06/09
Top CriticThere's an edge of psychological horror in director Oliver Parker's third Oscar Wilde story that tells how Ben Barnes' Dorian Gray sells his soul to the devil in return for his youth and beauty
11/06/09
Top CriticIf it was Oscar Wilde who said that experience is the name that everyone gives to their mistakes, then this Dorian Gray is quite an experience!
11/12/09
By leaving nothing up to the imagination, Parker destroys the very essence of the film.
09/24/09
An impressive character piece that explores important themes ... as well as embellishing aspects of the original story that have never been fleshed out so elaborately.
09/18/09
Depravity is better suggested than made explicit when it becomes vulgar, pornographic or comic, and possibly all three.
09/18/09
A sturdy piece of heritage horror, as tasteful and handsome as any Brit movie with bustles and frock-coats on its agenda.
09/14/09
A very respectful retelling and study of man's inherent quest for self-destruction given the removal of personal ramifications.
09/11/09
Teenagers will love this film. They will love it because there are lots of close-ups of Barnes being done unto or doing unto others. As a vehicle for a rising and undeniably talented star, it hits the spot.
09/11/09
An ambitious if decidedly uneven interpretation of the last great Gothic horror novel.
09/11/09
Top CriticThese are interesting ideas, but they would work better if there was more decadence on show earlier on to nail Gray’s corruption.
09/11/09
Wilde survives intact - and with some flair - although the results will do more for sixth-form literature students and their teachers than for film connoisseurs.
09/11/09
Some neat formal flourishes from its director Oliver Parker and a truly handsome supporting turn from Colin Firth, this story demands a more versatile and charismatic central player than the powerfully blank Ben Barnes.
09/11/09
Top CriticIt has the style of a Hammer shocker from decades ago; Wilde's romance is caricatured, certainly, but the whole thing is socked over with gusto.
09/11/09
Top CriticBeyond mildly risqué bisexual assignations, the filmmaking isn’t terribly adventurous, but cinematographer Roger Pratt gives it an inky opulence, and it’s quite watchable.
09/11/09
Parker directs his version like a kid who, after one too many Haribos, has been let loose with a bumper-pack of poster paints.
09/11/09
Both the visceral sense and the little grey cerebral cells are well served within the company of such a pleasingly ambiguous age-defying title character in the shape of Dorian Gray.
09/11/09
Just like Dorian, it’s all style and no substance. And valiant turns from Firth and co can’t save this from being a melodramatic, overwrought mess.
09/11/09
Latest News for Dorian Gray
September 20, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review 
More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
Why Don't Australians Make Sci-fi?
The New Matilda's Lynden Barber looks at the recent success of low-budget sci-fi -- and asks the question.
New Moon Portraits
TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win Star Wars prizes
Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser
Win the entire 007 collection
Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.
Win Fight Club Special Editions and more
We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection
IGN RSS Feeds