Synopsis
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. Both want to be writers, but only one of them is successful.
Scores
Overall Score
43.7
Popularity Percentile (Year)
40.8%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
25.4%
Review Aggregate
82.2
Critic Consensus
Critic reception is largely positive, with 90% of 31 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize character-driven, gritty, visually striking. Most critics frame the film as an effective delivery of its core style and intent.
character-drivengrittyvisually strikingtragicrealisticdarkhistorical
Cast
| Cast | Year | Reported Salary | Inflation Adjusted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Oldman | 1987 | $146,000 | $404,000 | (est) |
| Alfred Molina | 1987 | $90,000 | $249,000 | (est) |
| Vanessa Redgrave | 1987 | $68,000 | $187,000 | (est) |
Aggregated Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes critic score92.0
RT critic review count39
Rotten Tomatoes audience score79.0
RT audience rating count2,500
IMDb rating7.1
IMDb votes6,806
Box Office ?
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 1987 | $1,654,743 | $4,569,480 |
| International | 1987 | N/A | N/A |
| Worldwide | 1987 | $1,654,743 | $4,569,480 |
Earnings / Profitability
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | |||
| Theatrical Net Revenue | 1987 | $827,372 | $2,284,740 |
| Digital Rentals ? | 1987 | N/A | N/A |
| Digital Purchases ? | 1987 | N/A | N/A |
| Physical Rentals ? | 1987 | $5,582,000 | $15,414,378 |
| Physical Purchases ? | 1987 | $2,604,000 | $7,190,799 |
| TV & Streaming Revenue | 1987 | $661,897 | $1,827,792 |
| Total Revenues | 1987 | $9,675,269 | $26,717,709 |
| Expenses | |||
| Budget ? | 1987 | $1,900,000 | $5,246,743 |
| Print & Advertising (P&A) ? | 1987 | $1,151,000 (est) | $3,178,422 (est) |
| Participations | 1987 | $387,000 | $1,068,679 |
| Residuals ? | 1987 | $629,000 | $1,736,948 |
| Interest & Overhead | 1987 | $380,000 | $1,049,349 |
| Total Expenses | 1987 | $4,447,000 | $12,280,140 |
| Movie Net Profit or Loss | 1987 | $5,228,269 | $14,437,569 |
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