The film is based on a book by theater critic John Lahr. It goes inside the extraordinary life of a talented playwright Joe Orton who is murdered by his girlfriend at the height of reputation.
The film covers the main events of the Orton life in a manner that is nothing less than distracted. One has little understanding of the fatal intensity - and need - that kept Orton and Halliwell together.
Empire Magazine
April 06, 2007
A decent snapshot of pre-Beatle Britain, this is much more a fact-based gay melodrama than a trenchant portrait of Joe Orton's life, loves and art.
Stands up extraordinarily well: mostly because of two outstanding central performances, Gary Oldman as the talented, blase Orton, and Alfred Molina as his thwarted, Hancock-esque murderer Kenneth Halliwell.
The great performances in the movie are, of course, at its center. Gary Oldman plays Orton and Alfred Molina plays Halliwell, and these are two of the best performances of the year.
Like "Casablanca," "Diva," "Clockwork Orange" and countless other quality-cult films, "Prick Up Your Ears" has an indefinable idiosyncrasy that makes you want to come back for more.
Gary Oldman is excellent as Orton, right down to remarkable resemblance, while Alfred Molina creates both an amusing and tormented Halliwell. Vanessa Redgrave takes top honors, though, as a compassionate and benign agent.
