PRICK UP YOUR EARS
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1987 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: The true story of the homosexual relationship of successful playwright Joe Orton and his equally talented but much less successful "wife," Kenneth Halliwell. This is a solid dramatic film and one of the year's best.
It would be nice to feel that success is a matter of talent alone, but clearly charisma and luck have a hand also. PRICK UP YOUR EARS is about two men--lovers--who appear to be about equally talented. One makes it as an award-winning playwright; one is doomed to fail at whatever he puts his hand to. PRICK UP YOUR EARS is the story of Joe Orton and Kenneth Halliwell's relationship and how it is affected by Orton's success. We see the story in flashback after Halliwell murdered Orton and then committed suicide.
Orton was a popular playwright whose death in 1967 caused a stir, particularly after it was revealed that he had had a longstanding homosexual relationship with Halliwell. PRICK UP YOUR EARS is based on a biography of Orton which in turn was based on Orton's diaries. The film flashes back and forth as Orton's biographer (played by Wallace Shawn) interviews Orton's agent, Peggy (played by Vanessa Redgrave).
The flashbacks themselves jump around in time a bit, but generally tell the story from when Orton and Halliwell met in acting school to their deaths. Though there was not much difference in their ages at the beginning of their relationship, Halliwell was more sophisticated. In a dramatic scene in acting school, Halliwell shows himself to be more imaginative than his classmates and perhaps a bit disturbed. He seduces Orton and starts a life collaborating with him as well as living with him. After each spends six months in prison for defacing library books, Peggy takes notice of Orton's writing and guides him to success while Halliwell is left behind.
Alfred Molina plays Joe Orton. Molina previously played sociopath Sid Vicious in SID AND NANCY. Joe Orton matures into a very different sort of person than Sid Vicious. Based on clips I have seen from SID AND NANCY, I am as impressed as the critics were with Molina's versatility. But perhaps because it is a less appealing role most critics I know of have under- praised Gary Oldman as Halliwell. The withering of his self-respect is what makes this film and he deserves more attention than I am seeing him get. In any case, PRICK UP YOUR EARS gets a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale. Look for Oscar nominations for this film.
Mark R. Leeper
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