The film, based on Oscar Wilde's novel, 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', stars George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed and Angela Landsbury. Dorian Gray, youthful and naive, has his portrait painted, whereupon he is introduced to Lord Henry, a friend of the painter. Shortly after hearing Lord Henry speak of his personal views of youthfulness and the enjoyments therein, Dorian wishes to keep his youthful appearance forever in exchange for his soul. We soon learn that the portrait of Dorian will be a mirror, more or less, to his soul wherein, the portrait becomes more and more disfigured with each sin he commits. Two things stood out in my mind at the completion of this film: Firstly, Lord Henry, whom seemingly lurks and suggests wrongdoings to Dorian at key moments, reminded me of the role Satan plays in our lives. Satan can and does tempt us, but we make our own decisions. Decisions, good or bad, lead to outcomes. We may make mistakes and learn from these mistakes to make better decisions in the future, but we are still left with the outcomes from those mistakes. For example, when Lord Henry suggested Dorian "use" the girl he had otherwise planned to marry and Dorian did so, he was later sorrowful about his decision and had decided to marry the girl after all. However, before he could make it right, he learned of her suicide. Faced with the guilt of her suicide, it seemed to me, Dorian hardened his heart and gave up on himself. The film implied he went from one bad act to another; I'm sure the novel would fill in the blanks better than the film. The second thing that stood out in my mind, was the fact that Dorian's fate seemed set in stone, whereas ours, thankfully, is not. As I said before, we may have to live with outcomes from our mistakes, but that should not stop us from righting those wrongs as best we can and trying to do better in the future. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail." Also, don't be discouraged. It's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the film! :)
Thanks for stopping by ~ Julie
