Prick up Your Ears1987

Director
Stephen Frears

Actors

Gary Oldman (Joe Orton)
Alfred Molina (Kenneth Halliwell)
Vanessa Redgrave (Peggy Ramsay)
Wallace Shawn (John Lahr)
Lindsay Duncan (Anthea Lahr)
Julie Walters (Elsie Orton)

Biographer John Lahr is writing a book about playwright Joe Orton. Joe and Kenneth meet at drama school and live together for ten years as lovers and collaborators.
This movie is the story of the spectacular life and violent death of British playwright Joe Orton. In his teens, Orton is befriended by the older, more reserved Kenneth Halliwell, and while the two begin a relationship, it’s fairly obvious that it’s not all about sex. Orton loves the dangers of bath-houses and liaisons in public restrooms; Halliwell, not as charming or attractive as Orton, doesn’t fare so well in those environments. While both long to become writers, it is Orton who achieves fame, but Orton’s success takes him farther from Halliwell.
“’Prick up Your Ears’, biography of Joe Orton, embodies the wild spirit of the 1960s. Gary Oldman is uncannily accurate as Orton and Alfred Molina is unendearingly sad as his jealous lover Kenneth Halliwell.” – The Guardian
“Both actors benefit from Alan Bennett’s insightful script. Nonetheless, this double act is never less than intriguing.” – BBCi Films
“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.” – The Washington Post