Based on the adult lives of British playwright John "Joe" Orton and his lover Kenneth Halliwell, Stephen Frears' Prick Up Your Ears (1987) explores a strained relationship between two fascinating subjects and the long, almost inevitable path towards their joint deaths on August 9, 1967. It's a film that plays at least half of its cards right: most low-budget dramas can't claim one top-tier performance, let alone three, and there's no denying that its central story is almost impossible to look away from once you know the ending in advance. From their first meeting in 1951, Orton (Gary Oldman, in an early starring role after Sid & Nancy>) and Halliwell (Alfred Molina) are almost impossibly mismatched...and once their respective roles as student and teacher are reversed, things go bad in a hurry.

But even if you knew their fates before seeing Prick Up Your Ears. Stephen Frears' film makes sure to explain everything well in advance. It opens with the discovery of the crime scene, almost immediately shifting into exposition mode with scenes featuring Orton's biographer John Lahr (Wallace Shawn) and literary agent Peggy Ramsay (Vanessa Redgrave), who discuss the events leading up to it. From there, we're bombarded with a series of fragmented flashbacks: Orton's pre-fame years, his first meeting with Halliwell, prison time, unfaithfulness, fame and acceptance, addiction, and other items of interest. The result is a film that's approachable no matter your level of interest in the subject...but as a whole, its short-term narrative crutches end up crippling the story's effectiveness as a whole.

It isn't long before Lahr and Ramsay's exposition and narration feels more irritating than enlightening, yet Prick Up Your Ears survives some of its more obvious missteps. It can't be stressed enough how terrific the central performances by Oldman, Molina, and Redgrave (who also appears as Ramsay during several flashbacks) actually are; they simply inhabit their characters from start to finish. Oldman and Molina obviously get the most screen time, and it's their car wreck of a relationship that makes Prick Up Your Ears so engaging the first time through. Orton's fearless and self-destructive tendencies offer the first clue; when combined with Halliwell's desperate cries for attention, this portrayal of an "illegal" couple becomes more of a universal warning sign than a short-sighted political statement. Yet it's the film's cliched structure---not to mention a laughably bad score, which all but ruins a few scenes---that hurts it in the long run, which is probably why Prick Up Your Ears has remained so obscure for almost 30 years.

Even so, Frears' film---which followed his more well-known My Beautiful Laundrette---is worth a watch for fans of the cast or subject, but those who already own MGM's 2004 DVD won't find much to like about Olive Films' new Blu-ray. The film doesn't appear to have been remastered in any significant way (although it's almost a perfect match for the grimy, low-budget visuals), and the lack of extras makes this disc's $30 sticker price all the more unfortunate.

Presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, Prick Up Your Ears still looks at least a decade older than it actually is. MGM's 2004 DVD shared a similar fate...but for all I know, most of its problems may very well stem from source material issues. Either way, it doesn't look like much restoration work has been done here: scratches and scuffs are noticeable along the way, excessive noise and clumps of grain run rampant, and darker scenes are smothered by black crush and poor shadow detail. The film's garish color palette appears accurate, which doesn't sound like much of a compliment. A handful of outdoor scenes serve up a decent amount of image detail and texture...but for the most part, Prick Up Your Ears is not very pleasing to look at (although, in a sense, it kind of suits the material). A full restoration would certainly be welcome, but it's doubtful that we'll ever see anything like that in the near future.

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix is also cramped by its source material and will likely never sound much better than it does here. Outdoor footage and stage productions showcase a bit of depth, but not very much. The music, scattershot as it is, remains well balanced on most occasions but tends to overpower at times. Unfortunately, no optional English subtitles or captions have been included, which isn't surprising for an Olive disc. This can make a few accents and bits of dialogue tough to decipher (none more than Orton's mother), but it's not too distracting overall.

Prick Up Your Ears is a somewhat effective film about a truly fascinating subject, filled with strong performances that bring the main characters to life. But the film's flashback-heavy structure---and the narration that comes with it---feels gimmicky, framing a story that would've been just as effective without the extra "help". The score also doesn't do it any favors, often calling attention to itself for almost all the wrong reasons. Similarly, Olive Films' Blu-ray package doesn't offer a great deal of support, serving up a lackluster A/V presentation (though many problems may be related to the source material) and only the bare minimum of extras. Those interested in the cast or subject matter should try before they buy, but a purchase is only recommended for extremely enthusiastic fans. Rent It.