THE CONFESSIONS OF DORIAN GRAY REVIEW
THE COMPLETE FIFTH AND FINAL SERIES
By Jack Ryan
BEWARE: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
AND I MEAN IT THIS TIME!!!! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T LISTENED TO IT!!!!
AND I MEAN IT THIS TIME!!!! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T LISTENED TO IT!!!!
It's hard to believe that my first introduction to this masterpiece of a series was nearly two years ago. It feels like longer. I feel as if Dorian Gray has been there for at least half of my life. I don't know precisely why that is, but I would say it's due to the quality of these tales and how much they've invaded my mind for the best part of these last few years. I said before that it is clear from the style and genius of the concept and stories that this series is the baby of its director Scott Handcock and its star, the glorious ALEXANDER BLOODY VLAHOS. So I cannot even begin to imagine the pain and heartbreak that these two alone experienced when this eventual moment finally came... but I can share in one aspect which I will talk about soon....
Dorian Gray. The eponymous fictional hero of Oscar Wilde's lone, but impactful novel. But Dorian Gray is real, isn't he? Of course he is, He's the lifelong friend of Wilde who helped him fend of an attack from a spectral psychotic artist! He's the friend and comrade of a Scottish Captain who battled the legendary Angel Of Mons! He's the companion and dear friend of the legendary Dorothy Parker, who solved one of Hollywood's biggest conspiracies! But that's what they say, and that's what they insist. Even the dear pitied man in a nursing home who thinks he's the famed Hedonist. Charlie White knows the truth. Dorian Gray is real...... isn't he?
Marking the epic end of Big Finish's greatest and most successful original series, the format was changed up only slightly. We still got four glorious hours of great stories and phenomenal acting, but each episode was an hour long. That however does not detract any quality from these fantastic tales. Starting off with Guy Adams' One Must Not Look At Mirrors, we see Oscar Wilde describe how he first met the infamous Dorian Gray, and the time when he re-entered his life. Along with a long thought dead psychotic artist... Then we are graced with Roy Gill's Angel Of War, where Lieutenant Gray enters the First World War, under the command of Captain James Anderson. And they soon discover a survivor straggling across No-mans-land, rambling about angels... Following is David Llewellyn's The Valley Of Nightmares, which sees the notable Dorothy Parker attempt to re-enter the movie scene when she and Dorian pitch a film based on his book to movie mogul Walter van Kirk. And then they discover the dark secrets behind his productions... These three stories represent some of the greatest writing the series has ever seen and are just absolutely perfect to listen to. Scott's directing shines completely through in these tales and I enjoyed the switching of perspectives from Dorian's POV to the POV of the secondary characters, who make the stories both believable and fantastically exaggerated at the same time, which I firmly believe is the point of its being...
I may have mentioned this warning already..... but major, AND I MEAN MAJOR spoilers follow....
Scott Handcock's Ever After.
I'm still not ready to talk about it. But I must.
Scott's finale to the series and the range takes all our expectations about how we thought it would end and completely flips it on its head and pulls the rug, carpet, floorboards and concrete foundation out from under our feet. And that is because we don't know. We don't know what's real and what's a concoction of the imagination. We don't know whether it's Dorian's world that is real, or the depressing realistic nursing home ramblings of Charlie White that are real. And Scott gives us every trick in the book to try and disorientate us. Callbacks to important characters, seeming evidence of one reality being explained away, a returning eerie voice we don't know is real or simply made up in his head. It is dark, clinical, and utterly depressing. And that's what makes it utterly and perfectly heartbreaking. If it was to end with a climactic battle between Dorian and the Devil, we would still have a modicum of happiness at Dorian's sacrifice and martyrdom. Here, Dorian loses regardless of what reality it is. Either Dorian is now convinced he's not real and it breaks him, or it's the sad story of an insane Charlie White, who dies detached, unhinged and alone. Dorian ends not with a bang but with a whimper, and that's what makes the end more final and certain.
Before I go on with praising the hell out of the cast and other crew of this thing, I want to talk about one last thing regarding that episode. How real it felt. I don't live in a nursing home or suffer from the likes of dementia or Alzheimer's or the kind. But I've seen what it is like. A few months ago, my grandmother was admitted to hospital after having a bad turn and after suffering with tinnitus for a good long while, she was ultimately diagnosed with what seems like dementia. She would hark back to memories long gone by and have days when all she seemed to want to do was to scream at the world. Ultimately she got well enough to be discharged from hospital, but had to be sent to a nursing home. I went to visit as often as I could and could see that there was slow improvement, but for those first few months, the look on her face and the sound of her tone told me everything. She hated it. She hated it, because it seemed to say that she had finally lost. This story, as well as being emotionally heartbreaking, has also done another thing for me. It has helped me to at least partially understand the pain and struggle my grandmother was going through. Thankfully I can say that that doesn't seem to be the case as far as I can tell anymore. She has recovered near phenomenally well, is able to move around and converse again, and although she is still living in the nursing home, seems to have come to accept it. I won't even begin to say I completely understand every last struggle she has, but I have a foothold of an understanding. So as heartbroken as I am for this series having ended the way it has, I want to thank Scott and Alex for tackling the subject matter of that story in the way they have done to make it understandable for anyone.
Speaking of Alex, not only is he absolutely astounding in his final turn as the immortal personification of desire, but he leads a truly star-studded cast of new voices and returning favourites, including the likes of EastEnders' and Doctor Who's Jo Joyner, Dirk Gently's Samuel Barnett, Superman II's Sarah Douglas, Red Dwarf's Mac McDonald, Tomb Of The Cybermen's Bernard Holley, W1A's Hugh Skinner, plus Guy Adams, David Blackwell, Tracey Childs, Ben Crystal, Lizzee Hopley, Steffan Rhodri, John Schwab, Ben Flohr, Daniel Brockelbank, Steven Cree, Stephanie Ellyne and Lewis Reeves. Every last performer here gives it their all as curtain goes down on this fantastic series. No single person skimps on their efforts and all deliver a performance that the greats of Hollywood would be proud of... And for the last series, Neil Gardner cooks up some utterly gorgeous sound design that is awe-inspiring, terrifying and heartbreaking all at the same time. And as for the music, we've been given the glorious returning treat of James Dunlop. AND Ioan Morris. AND Rhys Downing! Being greeted with this amazing threesome of talent, they have produced, like everything else in this set, the best work they've ever produced. And oh, how I cried to the soundtrack for Ever After....
I still can't comprehend it. This is it. After four glorious years, five series, five specials, two mini-sodes, a new take on the classic novel and an epic crossover, the journey of Dorian Gray is at an end. But, after thinking of it, I'm okay with that. I've had two glorious years of listening and anticipating the sheer perfection of this series. And that last episode, whilst sad and heartbreaking, I'm glad I listened to as it's not only a brilliant end to the series as a whole, but I am thankful to everyone behind it for giving me an understanding to how people truly live with that demon of a condition. All I can say now is this...
Thank you to everyone who was involved in this fantastic series.
Thank you to all the fans I've met online for making me feel like part of a family.
Thank you to all of you who've put up with me wittering about nothing but this series for the last two months.
Thank you Oscar for writing a novel that spoke to the soul of us all.
And most of all...
Thank you Scott and Alex. I thank you from the bottom of my soul-filled heart and wish you the best of luck with your next project. You can guarantee, I'll be one of the first in line to get it!
Photo from BigFinish.com. Cheers, lads!
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