Prick Up Your Ears

Twenty years ago, the director of The Queen and the writer of The History Boys - Stephen Frears and Alan Bennett - combined talents to bring the brief but brilliant life of playwright Joe Orton to the big-screen. Gary Oldman makes for a charming Orton as this wise and witty biopic takes us from his boyhood in Leicester to his untimely death at the hands of his longterm lover Kenneth Halliwell (Alfred Molina). The tender but tempestuous relationship between mischievous, sexually adventurous Orton and the depressive Halliwell is at the heart of the film, while the recreation of a then-secret world of homosexuality, at a time when it was still illegal, and London theatrical life adds fascinating period detail. In a film of wonderful performances, Vanessa Redgrave stands out as famous agent Peggy Ramsay.

New Digital Print courtesy of Park Circus Films.