The film Dorian Gray is a deconstruction of Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. That’s why it is better to read the novel first before watching the film. Nevertheless, the film captures the corruption of Dorian which is merely suggested in the book.
In the film, Lord Henry, has a daughter whom Dorian falls in love with. This is not found in the novel. Lord Henry’s wife eloped with another man and he never had a daughter nor was it a great loss on the part of Henry. Henry never loved his wife in the first case. This may be one of the reasons why the film is entitled Dorian Gray and not The Picture of Dorian Gray which is the complete title of the novel.
The film deconstructed also Sibyl Vane’s death. The film has her drowned while the book states that her death was caused by a poisonous substance. She is supposed to have committed suicide after Dorian was angry with her lame performance in the theater. In any case, he is seen here as very shallow. His affection for Sibyl, his first love suddenly vanishes with just one lame instance of her supposed very bad acting on stage.
Deconstruction is also evident in the painting itself. To show corruption, the film displays a worm to signal the onset of a soul corrupted. This is perhaps to highlight the gruesome quality of Dorian’s soul. The book presents it through pathos not bathos. To show the beginning of this twisted turn of his soul, a look of evil instead of joy was now seen in the picture.
However, both the film and the novel correctly shows that Dorian is a person who seeks pleasure for its own sake. In the novel, it’s termed as sensations. Dorian is after new sensations after another. He goes everywhere, engages in every art and fad and tries every religion seeking for new sensations. His heart is never at rest. He has no lasting friendships or relationships except for the one person who entices him to hell in the first place, Lord Henry Wotton.
Lord Henry Wotton was like the serpent in the garden of Eden. Dorian Gray may be the “Eve” in this case. Henry or “Harry” as Dorian would call him made Dorian fall in love with himself. A narcissistic individual is then the result of one who is always told of his tremendous beauty.
The film with its limited scope has to select only some portions of the book to portray. In this case, it zooms in on the evil and scandalous things Dorian did. Such choice of images in the film is understandably for commercial purposes. Things that would titillate the senses or shock the prudish view of its audience are its attractions.
After watching the film, one could perhaps give a sigh of relief that the twisted Dorian finally died by his own hands. But it is a different thing in the novel. The novel particularly the classic ones usually gives you a worldview, a sort of whisper to the inner person. This rarely happens in films.
The novel could inspire one to be good whereas the film stops at the ending. The book makes you think about yourself and not about Dorian. It inspires you to value your soul more than the pleasures of this world. The book is better than the film in this case. Moreover, I wouldn’t recommend high school students to watch the film.
