Gary Oldman is often cited as one of the greatest living actors based purely on the diverse range of roles that he has made iconic. Frankly, it seems implausible that just one actor would be able to reinvent the most famous vampire in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, embody Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, play a terrifying police officer in Leon: The Professional, and bring to life one of fiction’s greatest spies in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. While he would become even more famous when he joined franchises by appearing in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Batman Begins, Oldman was hailed by Roger Ebert as “the best young British actor around” after he saw the unconventional biopic Prick Up Your Ears.
Prick Up Your Ears wasn’t Oldman’s breakout role, as he had previously impressed Ebert with his heartbreaking performance as Sid Vicious in the brilliant music biopic Sid & Nancy. However, Ebert was blown away after watching Prick Up Your Ears, as there was “no point of similarity between the two performances,” as Oldman was “able to reinvent himself for every role.” Ebert’s predictions would be proven correct, as Oldman’s talents become more widely celebrated within the following decade thanks to his brilliant work in True Romance and JFK. However, Prick Up Your Ears has stood the test of time as an important LGBTQ+ film and a profound depiction of the struggles of creative genius.
What Is ‘Prick Up Your Ears’ About?
Oldman stars in Prick Up Your Ears as the playwright Joe Orton, whose controversial writing made him highly influential in the 1960s. Although his work was initially dismissed as purposefully offensive and only intended to scandalize the public, Orton’s methods of satirizing established infrastructure and developing dark humor helped to initiate a new era of English authorship. Much of Orton’s writing was inspired by his own tumultuous life, as he had grown up poor and uneducated. Orton was given the opportunity to attain higher education when he befriended the struggling actor and writer Kenneth Halliwell (Alfred Molina), who he eventually began to fall in love with. Although Kenneth was initially impressed by how quickly Orton rose to prominence, he began to feel increasingly jealous, feeling that he had been denied the same success.
Prick Up Your Ears examines toxicity and inspiration within a relationship, and certainly tried to add more context to Halliwell and Orton’s dynamic, as it had already inspired a fair amount of speculation by the British press by the time of the latter’s death. Halliwell and Orton are bound together because of their status as outsiders, as Prick Up Your Ears certainly does not shy away from depicting the homophobia and hate speech that they were met with. However, there is a distinction between the two characters in terms of their relationship with society at large. While Halliwell is willing to conform to established standards in order to be accepted, Orton seems to take both joy and pride in conflicting with any form of authority. Initially, his bravery causes Halliwell to fall even deeper in love with him, but it becomes more difficult for Orton to live a life where he is constantly in opposition to others.
Prick Up Your Ears has a unique understanding of the creative process, as it depicts the various incidents in Orton’s life that end up inspiring his writing. Despite being bound by specific, unavoidable truths about Orton’s career, Prick Up Your Ears feels more like a “slice-of-life” film, as it allows the viewers to spend time with the characters as they come up with their most famous work. Given that Orton was famously someone who never abided by rules and regulations, it would feel dishonest to his legacy to depict his life as a typical three-act structure.
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‘Prick Up Your Ears’ Is Not a Conventional Biopic
Prick Up Your Ears follows a non-linear story structure, as the story is framed through the perspective of the literary agent Peggy Ramsay (Vanessa Redgrave), who, in the movie, was the first to discover Orton’s body after he was killed by Halliwell. In addition to showing the efforts that Ramsay went through in order to understand the circumstances surrounding Orton’s death, the film also flashes forward a decade to show the research of the theater critic John Lahr (Wallace Shawn), who was writing his own biography about the late author. By exploring the perspective of two outsiders, Prick Up Your Ears gives the audience surrogate characters that they can relate to. Establishing Orton’s death at the beginning also gives the film dramatic heft, as the audience is left to question when and how the tragedy will unfold.
Prick Up Your Ears is among Oldman’s most nuanced performances, as it would have been easy for him to portray a literary legend in a way that felt exploitative or critical. However, the freedom Oldman had to examine Orton’s idiosyncrasies ended up making the film feel more authentic, as it gave the viewer perspective into an experience that they may not have thought about previously. It’s thanks to Oldman that Orton’s work resonated with a new generation, and it’s thanks to Prick Up Your Ears that Oldman’s unconventional style of acting was given the respect that it deserves.