Set in Victorian London, DORIAN GRAY tells the story of a handsome young gentleman who remains eternally young while a portrait of him grows old. Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA - PRINCE CASPIAN) is a handsome and charming young man whose obsession with his own physical beauty leads him to do some very ugly things. Having just arrived in London, he is keen to experience the seedy pleasures the city has to offer. However, concerned about the effects a life of hedonism might have upon his youthful looks, he enlists a painter to capture his likeness on canvas, wishing that the portrait suffer the ravages of time, while he remains eternally young. Such is his vanity that Dorian is willing to sacrifice his very soul in order to pervert the course of nature. An orgy of sin and debauchery ensues, led by the nefarious Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth, BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY), in whom Dorian naively places all his trust. When true love enters the frame, Dorian struggles to hide the secret behind his eternal youth and is forced to look deep within himself, beyond the shimmering surface, to re-discover his own humanity. But is the love of a good woman enough to wipe clean his many transgressions or has he fallen too far to be saved?
Oliver Parker has carved 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 the reading-list favourite, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY.
Actors: Rebecca Hall, Rachel Hurd Wood, Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Fiona Shaw
Directors: Oliver Parker
