Prick Up Your Ears (1987)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers:

Alan Bennett (writer)
John Lahr (book)

Release Date:

8 May 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

Plot:

This film is the story of the spectacular life and violent death of British playwright Joe Orton. In his teens...

Plot Keywords:

Playwright | Sex | Death | Love | Writer

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. July 23

4:00 AM

TMC

Cast

Gary Oldman	...	Joe Orton
Alfred Molina	...	Kenneth Halliwell
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Peggy Ramsay
Frances Barber	...	Leonie Orton
Janet Dale	...	Mrs. Sugden
Julie Walters	...	Elsie Orton
Bert Parnaby	...	The Magistrate
Margaret Tyzack	...	Madame Lambert
Lindsay Duncan	...	Anthea Lahr
Wallace Shawn	...	John Lahr
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dave Atkins	...	Mr. Sugden
John Bailey	...	Wigmaker
Stephen Bill	...	George Barnett
Jane Blackburn	...	Woman in gallery 1
Mark Brignal	...	Beatles chauffeur
Selina Cadell	...	Miss Datersby
Antony Carrick	...	Counsil
Joanne Connelly	...	Stage manager
Garry Cooper	...	Mr Sloane
Philippa Davies	...	Peggy ramsay's secretary
Liam De Staic	...	Brickie
Anthony Douse	...	BBC actor 2
James Grant	...	William Orton
Christopher Guinee	...	Publisher
William Job	...	RADA Chairman
Rosalind Knight	...	RADA Judge
Spencer Leigh	...	Constable
Roger Lloyd-Pack	...	Mr Sloane
Angus MacKay	...	RADA Judge
Steven Mackintosh	...	Simon Ward
Charles McKeown	...	Mr. Cunliffe
Helena Michell	...	Orton's Friend
John Moffat	...	Wigmaker
Michael Müller	...	1st BBC Actor
Sean Pertwee	...	Orton's Friend
Eric Richard	...	Education Officer
Stella Richman	...	Woman in gallery 2
Stevan Rimkus	...	Kenneth
Hooper Robin	...	Mortuary attendant
Joan Sanderson	...	Anthea's mother
Neville Smith	...	Police inspector
Linda Spurrier	...	Instructor
Max Stafford-Clark	...	Honourable President
Sian Thomas	...	Marilyn Oston
Charlotte Wodehouse	...	Janet

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:18 | UK:15 (re-release) | UK:18 (original rating) | Australia:M | New Zealand:R16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

25 Noel Road, Islington, London, England, UK

Company:

Civilhand

Trivia:

Wallace Shawn, who plays John Lahr, is (in addition to being an actor) an acclaimed playwright and screenwriter. Until her 1991 death, his play agent was Peggy Ramsay, who was also Joe Orton's agent and who appears in this film as the character played by Vanessa Redgrave.

Quotes:

Kenneth Halliwell: I just want to go to the awards! I could! Look, "Joe Orton and guest." I'd behave. I wouldn't say a word, I promise.
Joe Orton: No.
Kenneth Halliwell: Why?
Joe Orton: Because it's for me. I wrote it.
Kenneth Halliwell: I gave you the title.
Joe Orton: Okay, so when they have awards for titles, you can go to that.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Family Guy: Prick Up Your Ears (#5.6)" (2006)

An intimate, carefully crafted biopic with uniformly superb performances.

I don't usually enjoy biopics, but PRICK UP YOUR EARS is a glorious exception. Many biopics don't have strong narrative arcs (simply because people's lives generally don't), but this one does -- primarily because it focuses on the rapid deterioration of the relationship between playwright Joe Orton and failed novelist Kenneth Halliwell. With the obvious exception of the horrific conclusion, the issues faced by these two London writers will probably ring painfully true for many members of the audience. Who hasn't felt like Halliwell at some point -- or even Orton, dealing with a Halliwell-esquire partner?

This is where PRICK UP YOUR EARS succeeds while so many other biopics fail: while it does not shy away from the sensationalistic aspects of Orton's life, it never neglects the complex relationship beating at the center of the narrative. I can safely say it's one of the rare cases where I found myself relating on a human level to the biographical subjects, instead of dryly watching them from afar.

Director Stephen Frears deserves kudos for his warm, understated approach. It's almost hard to praise his directing because it's so unobtrusive; but this is exactly his strong point. He is confident in the story's inherent power, so he wisely gets out of the way and lets it unfold naturally.

And he is helped marvelously by the uniformly great performances; there simply isn't a wrong note struck by the cast. Even supporting roles, like those of Orton's sister and brother-in-law, feel like real human beings. Of course, the real standouts are Oldman, Molina and Redgrave.

Though his physical appearance isn't dramatically altered, Gary Oldman still seems unrecognizable compared to his previous work; this is how strongly he becomes Orton. His carefree swagger is by turns charming and infuriating. You understand why Halliwell is both entranced and insanely frustrated with him. He also looks a little bit like Dana Carvey - just by the by.

Molina is no less astonishing. Bald at 25, frustrated, neurotic, sexually incapable... the character is a hulking mass of awkwardness, but somehow he evokes tremendous sympathy. You alternately want to hug this guy and shake him silly. (The scene in which Orton is informed of his mother's death is heartbreaking - for both men's reactions.)

Meanwhile, Redgrave is a delight. Her line readings are exquisite and she gives the movie a crisp cleverness without crossing the line into self-indulgence.

For all the tragic and uncomfortable elements of Orton and Halliwell's relationship, the movie still features some hilarious scenes. The cheeky title, Orton and Halliwell's divergent accounts of their lifestyle together, the conversation with Brian Epstein, and Halliwell's "we were having a conversation" gave the movie a gleeful edge of naughtiness -- one the viewer suspects was strongly inspired by Orton's own approach to life and work.

In short, I highly recommend this movie. Though its description may seem sensationalistic -- a gay man brutally murders his successful young lover -- PRICK UP YOUR EARS triumphs as both a simple human drama and as a biography in which its subjects are made more intimate rather than more remote.