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I began by making a moodboard to present initial ideas and visuals of my interpretation of the character Dorian Gray. I found an image of a painted version of Prince Charming from a Disney film (bottom right), which fitted my interpretation of Dorian Gray at the start of the novel well. Victorian fashions included longer hair on men, and as Gray is described as having 'crisp gold hair' (chpt. 2), this image suited - minus the low-cut shirt! The pictures along the top are examples of portraiture by various artists which all involve dark, distorted tones. I liked these because they remind me of how the portrait supposedly looks at the end of the novel, and I can see how they could be representative of the dark side of a person's soul rather than one's physical appearance. Thorns signify pain and suffering, and the black roses represent something that is beautiful turning sinister - the colour black connoting darkness and evil, while roses are symbolic of beauty and love. I chose to use a white-black gradient colour scheme in the title box, as white connotes innocence and blankness, and black implies evil; the gradient shows the same transformation in Gray's character. The colour white is a strong theme throughout the book as well; with quotes including 'white purity', sins being rectified so that they are 'white as snow', and Gray asking for 'as few white ones as possible' when ordering flowers - clearly showing he no longer cares for innocence.
My initial idea for how I will portray Dorian Gray through hair and make-up was to split the face diagonally and show one half as the young, attractive Dorian, and the other as the old, ugly version which he turns into at the end of the book, showing his drastic transformation.
A second idea would be to simply portray Dorian Gray as how he looks at the end of the novel, when he dies and take on the portrait's appearance. However, in the 2009 film, the portrait at the end looks too over-the-top for my liking:
'The cheeks would become hollow or flaccid. Yellow crow's feet would creep round the fading eyes and make them horrible. The hair would lose its brightness, the mouth would gape or droop, would be foolish or gross, as the mouths of old men are. There would be the wrinkled throat, the cold, blue-veined hands, the twisted body...' (chpt. 10)
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Sunday, 31 January 2016
Initial ideas for my 'Dorian Gray' hair and make-up
Dorian Gray character review
Dorian Gray begins in the novel as a young, innocent, very attractive man with good morals. He has his portrait painted and wishes to remain as young and beautiful as he looks in the picture. Unfortunately, he is easily influenced by the cynical Lord Henry Wotton, a trait which eventually leads him to a life of sinning and cruelty; but, as he had wished, he shows no signs of ageing, injury, illness or evil - instead the portrait changes and suffers the aesthetic consequences of each sin committed. By the end of the novel, Gray decides he should be 'good' again, and upon trying to destroy the portrait, he kills himself.
Dorian Gray clearly has a deluded sense of priorities; he is so obsessed with youth and beauty that he does not recognise that there is anything more to life, and that his purity and innocence are far more attractive and special qualities, which actually lend his aesthetic a unique appeal. What's more, he enjoys being able to commit sin after sin - he loves being evil. He enjoys seeing the portrait grow more and more hideous, and his one and only concern is that someone might discover the painting and see what he really should look like. Ironically, even at the end of the novel, Gray still shows a sense of naivety (or maybe stupidity?), by blaming youth for his cruelty.
I thought that this quote summed up Dorian Gray extremely well, and perhaps explains how torn Gray is as a character:
'Dorian Gray is so many opposites at once that we can't really try to understand them all. He's good, he's bad; he's beautiful, he's hideous; he's perfect, he's terribly flawed. Most importantly, he's literally two things at once—he's himself, a living, breathing human being, and he's also the portrait, a visible reflection of the state of his (crumbling) soul.' - Shmoop
http://www.shmoop.com/picture-dorian-gray/dorian-gray-character.html
Dorian Gray clearly has a deluded sense of priorities; he is so obsessed with youth and beauty that he does not recognise that there is anything more to life, and that his purity and innocence are far more attractive and special qualities, which actually lend his aesthetic a unique appeal. What's more, he enjoys being able to commit sin after sin - he loves being evil. He enjoys seeing the portrait grow more and more hideous, and his one and only concern is that someone might discover the painting and see what he really should look like. Ironically, even at the end of the novel, Gray still shows a sense of naivety (or maybe stupidity?), by blaming youth for his cruelty.
I thought that this quote summed up Dorian Gray extremely well, and perhaps explains how torn Gray is as a character:
'Dorian Gray is so many opposites at once that we can't really try to understand them all. He's good, he's bad; he's beautiful, he's hideous; he's perfect, he's terribly flawed. Most importantly, he's literally two things at once—he's himself, a living, breathing human being, and he's also the portrait, a visible reflection of the state of his (crumbling) soul.' - Shmoop
http://www.shmoop.com/picture-dorian-gray/dorian-gray-character.html
Tuesday, 26 January 2016
Dorian Gray (2009) vs the original novel
This is less of a review and more of a rant, but if I were to give a personal opinion, it would be this: Nope, nope, nope.
I have to say, I was wary from the start about how good this film interpretation of the gothic novel would be, and rightly so; it was a very disappointing watch.
Starting with positives, the acting was brilliant in my opinion. Ben Barnes portrayed an effectively mysterious and increasingly-cruel Dorian Gray, and Colin Firth's Lord Henry Wotton was magnificently witty, dark, cynical and sarcastic.
My first peeve though, was that Dorian Gray's hair was very obviously brunette. Was it so hard to find an attractive blonde actor instead, considering throughout the novel Gray is described as having golden hair?
Next, was that Basil seemed much more confident and feisty than he was portrayed in the book. This, I could deal with, however the hyperbolic homoerotic themes seemed unnecessary and far-fetched to me. In the book there are undertones of homosexuality from various characters; at the time the book was written it would've been outrageous to make any explicit homosexual references. The film, on the other hand, seemed to run wild with this theme, along with the addition of plenty of scenes depicting twisted, unconventional sexual activities, such as Gray seducing a young girl upstairs at her own celebratory party, before hiding her under the bed and promptly doing the same to her own mother while she lay, horrified, underneath. Like I said: unnecessary. I felt that scenes like this ruined the transitional chapter in the book and made the storyline far less believable.
Further problems I had with this film included the addition of made up characters like Wotton's daughter, who Gray fell in love with - clearly meant to be the filmmaker's version of Hetty from the book; the changing of powerful parts such as Gray and Vane's romance followed by the removal of Sybil Vane's suicide, and the alteration in how her death is revealed to Gray; and also the way in which Jim Vane died. Two of the biggest issues I had were 1) the way portrait transforms, and 2) how it is destroyed at the end. I loved how, in the book, the changes in the portrait were initially very subtle - a glimmer of cruelty in the eye, or a flicker of evil on the side of the mouth. But, of course, the film felt it necessary to go over-the-top once again and make the portrait first begin to bleed, and next have a maggot crawl from it's eye. I feel that with the aid of camera skills and special effects that written words do not possess, the film could've portrayed the transformation in a much more artistic and effective way. Finally, at the end of the film, we see Lord Henry Wotton discover the portrait, and thus decide to lock Dorian Gray in the room with it and set it on fire, in order to destroy him and the painting. The relationship between the two characters felt wrong here, as in the book Wotton still adores Gray at this point, and does not know about him murdering their friend Basil, which I liked because it remained a secret as to how much of a monster Dorian Gray had really become, unlike in the film. Granted, Gray stabbed the painting while the room burned up, staying true to the novel. However, the painting almost came to life, snarling and leaning out from the canvas. I felt that this added a whole new supernatural element to the story, lessening the psychological one which I adored so much in the book.
I understand that in visual media, artistic license is used to show parts of a story that cannot be communicated without written word, but nonetheless I felt that none of these differences added to the story whatsoever, and rather felt that they weakened the shock, mystery and sinister tones created so fantastically in the novel. I think that they could've been executed in a far more effective way, and without simply showing off special effects skills.
I have to say, I was wary from the start about how good this film interpretation of the gothic novel would be, and rightly so; it was a very disappointing watch.
Starting with positives, the acting was brilliant in my opinion. Ben Barnes portrayed an effectively mysterious and increasingly-cruel Dorian Gray, and Colin Firth's Lord Henry Wotton was magnificently witty, dark, cynical and sarcastic.
My first peeve though, was that Dorian Gray's hair was very obviously brunette. Was it so hard to find an attractive blonde actor instead, considering throughout the novel Gray is described as having golden hair?
Next, was that Basil seemed much more confident and feisty than he was portrayed in the book. This, I could deal with, however the hyperbolic homoerotic themes seemed unnecessary and far-fetched to me. In the book there are undertones of homosexuality from various characters; at the time the book was written it would've been outrageous to make any explicit homosexual references. The film, on the other hand, seemed to run wild with this theme, along with the addition of plenty of scenes depicting twisted, unconventional sexual activities, such as Gray seducing a young girl upstairs at her own celebratory party, before hiding her under the bed and promptly doing the same to her own mother while she lay, horrified, underneath. Like I said: unnecessary. I felt that scenes like this ruined the transitional chapter in the book and made the storyline far less believable.
Further problems I had with this film included the addition of made up characters like Wotton's daughter, who Gray fell in love with - clearly meant to be the filmmaker's version of Hetty from the book; the changing of powerful parts such as Gray and Vane's romance followed by the removal of Sybil Vane's suicide, and the alteration in how her death is revealed to Gray; and also the way in which Jim Vane died. Two of the biggest issues I had were 1) the way portrait transforms, and 2) how it is destroyed at the end. I loved how, in the book, the changes in the portrait were initially very subtle - a glimmer of cruelty in the eye, or a flicker of evil on the side of the mouth. But, of course, the film felt it necessary to go over-the-top once again and make the portrait first begin to bleed, and next have a maggot crawl from it's eye. I feel that with the aid of camera skills and special effects that written words do not possess, the film could've portrayed the transformation in a much more artistic and effective way. Finally, at the end of the film, we see Lord Henry Wotton discover the portrait, and thus decide to lock Dorian Gray in the room with it and set it on fire, in order to destroy him and the painting. The relationship between the two characters felt wrong here, as in the book Wotton still adores Gray at this point, and does not know about him murdering their friend Basil, which I liked because it remained a secret as to how much of a monster Dorian Gray had really become, unlike in the film. Granted, Gray stabbed the painting while the room burned up, staying true to the novel. However, the painting almost came to life, snarling and leaning out from the canvas. I felt that this added a whole new supernatural element to the story, lessening the psychological one which I adored so much in the book.
I understand that in visual media, artistic license is used to show parts of a story that cannot be communicated without written word, but nonetheless I felt that none of these differences added to the story whatsoever, and rather felt that they weakened the shock, mystery and sinister tones created so fantastically in the novel. I think that they could've been executed in a far more effective way, and without simply showing off special effects skills.
Thursday, 21 January 2016
Initial Review: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Wow.
Considering I haven’t finished a book since I was probably about 14, and initially felt bored at just the thought of having to read one for this upcoming project, I can safely say I was wrong to not be excited about his book. Having studied gothic horror at AS level, I kind of knew what to expect - primarily behaviour and events that would be considered unconventional and scandalous in the context in which the novel was written. However, I felt that this tale had much more to it, including meanings and symbols which I find relatable.
In essence, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a fictional novel about a young, innocent and highly attractive man, who, upon moving to London, meets painter Basil Hallward and gentleman Lord Henry Wotton. Hallward is a quiet, good man, who rather mirrors the wise, sceptical words and unconventional behaviour of his friend Wotton. Hallward uses Dorian Gray as a sitter for what is clearly his best piece of art, and upon seeing its phenomenal beauty, Gray makes a seemingly futile wish to remain as youthful as he appears in the painting forever. Soon he meets actress Sibyl Vane, who he very quickly falls in love with - until one night she performs terribly and he tells her he will never see her again. The following day he receives news that she has killed herself, explaining the strange alteration in Hallward’s portrait of Gray; it seems that the painting bears the cruelty, evil and suffering that Gray’s own appearance should. And so begins Gray’s spiral of scandal and evil, him being safe in the knowledge that he will remain young and powerful, while his portrait suffers the changes that he should. Years pass, and Dorian Gray lives his life religiously by a book given to him by Wotton, detailing wicked exploits of a Frenchman, thus sinking deeper into a life of corruption. Once returned, to everyone’s shock, he looks as youthful as ever. During a visit from Basil Hallward, the conversation escalates to the point where Gray decides to show his friend the portrait, and thereby, his true 'soul', hidden at the top of the house. This exchange results in the murder of Basil Hallward, due to a fit of rage by Gray who then uses an old acquaintance of his to help him dispose of the body - an acquaintance who we later learn kills himself after doing so. One night, upon visiting an opium den, Gray encounters James Vane, brother of the long dead Sibyl. He is held at gunpoint for what he did to Sibyl and told to say his last words, when he escapes by claiming he is not Dorian Gray, and would look much older by this time if he were. After this meeting, Gray becomes paranoid, even after moving to the countryside to find peace; luckily for him, James Vane is killed in an accident during a casual hunting activity. Gray decides to amend his life and sins, and return to be the good man he once was; in doing so, he decides to destroy the painting that has caused him so much pain. He stabs it with the same knife he used to kill Basil Hallward; his servants later find him dead on the floor, with a knife through his own heart. He looks old, withered and cruel, while the portrait looks youthful and perfect once again.
The first half of the book was definitely much slower than the second, involving a lot of conversation and introducing characters. However, upon meeting Sibyl Vane, I feel that the story picks up speed as Dorian Gray’s innocence decays; thus the reader encounters shock after shock as he commits sin after sin. I loved Henry Wotton as a character; I found his musings and theories very interesting and thought-provoking and often scarily true. I was fascinated by the character of Dorian Gray, how he was so vulnerable to Wotton’s words, and the concept of youth, beauty and power vs. morals and innocence. I was left musing over the power of beauty, as well as it’s consequences: the psychological aspects to this tale fascinate me. I like how the book was left open to interpretation at the end: had Gray died because he destroyed his own soul stored in the painting? Was it as punishment for an inability to avoid influence and live by his own morals in a new world of individualism? Or was it because, by stabbing his portrait, all the years of suffering he should have experienced were projected on to him, suggesting he should have died from his lifestyle choices already?
I am excited about where this book will lead me. It provides a lot of powerful visual imagery and my thoughts are already in overdrive about how I could portray a character through the medium of make-up. My initial ideas includes themes of transformation, perhaps a face half-beautiful and half-disfigured?
I am excited about where this book will lead me. It provides a lot of powerful visual imagery and my thoughts are already in overdrive about how I could portray a character through the medium of make-up. My initial ideas includes themes of transformation, perhaps a face half-beautiful and half-disfigured?
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