{"id":3466,"date":"2007-07-16T13:17:11","date_gmt":"2007-07-16T20:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3466"},"modified":"2021-01-31T21:12:27","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T04:12:27","slug":"prick-up-your-ears-1987","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3466","title":{"rendered":"Prick Up Your Ears (1987)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;My plays are about getting away with it, and the ones who get away with it are the guilty ones. It&#8217;s the innocents who get it in the neck.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/07\/Prick-Up-Your-Ears-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/07\/Prick-Up-Your-Ears-Poster-216x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"216\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-22862\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/07\/Prick-Up-Your-Ears-Poster-216x300.jpg 216w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/07\/Prick-Up-Your-Ears-Poster-92x128.jpg 92w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/07\/Prick-Up-Your-Ears-Poster.jpg 533w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 216px) 100vw, 216px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA biographer (Wallace Shawn) enlists the help of theatrical agent Peggy Ramsay (Vanessa Redgrave) in discovering what led Kenneth Halliwell (Alfred Molina) to kill his lover, playwright Joe Orton (Gary Oldman).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Biopics<\/li>\n<li>Flashback Films<\/li>\n<li>Homosexuality<\/li>\n<li>Jealousy<\/li>\n<li>Mentors<\/li>\n<li>Vanessa Redgrave Films<\/li>\n<li>Writers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPlaywright Joe Orton &#8212; author of <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3319\"><em>Entertaining Mr. Sloane<\/em><\/a> and <em>Loot<\/em> &#8212; lived a life nearly as bizarre as the characters in his darkly comedic plays. After a rapid rise from obscurity to fame, he was killed in 1967 by his long-time companion, Kenneth Halliwell; in 1978, John Lahr (son of actor Bert Lahr, the Cowardly Lion) wrote an investigative biography of 34-year-old Orton and his death. This film, directed by Stephen Frears, is based on Lahr&#8217;s book, and is &#8212; above all else &#8212; a fascinating character study of both men. <\/p>\n<p>Because the film opens with Orton&#8217;s bloody death, there&#8217;s no surprise about the outcome of events; instead the shifting power dynamics in Orton and Halliwell&#8217;s evolving relationship is the focus of the screenplay. We&#8217;re shown Halliwell&#8217;s pathological inability to deal with Orton&#8217;s sudden success, and Orton&#8217;s refusal to leave Halliwell behind despite his desire to be with other men. (In many ways, <em>Prick Up Your Ears<\/em> is a post-modern variation on <em>A Star is Born<\/em>.) <\/p>\n<p>The acting throughout is commendable: Oldman is note-perfect as Orton, showcasing his cockiness and pan-sexuality, and Molina is mostly effective (and appropriately creepy) as Halliwell, though he gradually loses our sympathy. Also notable is the incomparable Vanessa Redgrave, in a small yet pivotal role as the third party left behind to tell the world about Orton and Halliwell&#8217;s tragic love story. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gary Oldman as Orton<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/07\/OLdman2.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/07\/OLdman2.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3463\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Vanessa Redgrave as Peggy Ramsay<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/07\/Redgrave2.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/07\/Redgrave2.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3464\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A powerful tale of love, jealousy, loyalty, and ambition<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/07\/Jealousy2.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/07\/Jealousy2.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3465\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for Oldman&#8217;s remarkable performance. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0093776\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1987\/04\/17\/movies\/film-joe-orton-s-life-in-prick-up-your-ears.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/prick-up-your-ears-1987\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/prick-up-your-ears\">Time Out Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;My plays are about getting away with it, and the ones who get away with it are the guilty ones. It&#8217;s the innocents who get it in the neck.&#8221; Synopsis: A biographer (Wallace Shawn) enlists the help of theatrical agent Peggy Ramsay (Vanessa Redgrave) in discovering what led Kenneth Halliwell (Alfred Molina) to kill his lover, playwright Joe Orton (Gary Oldman). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Biopics Flashback Films Homosexuality Jealousy Mentors Vanessa Redgrave Films Writers Review: Playwright Joe Orton&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3466\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3466"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67560,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3466\/revisions\/67560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}