Pact with the Devil

Pact with the Devil, known in Canada as Dorian, is a 2004 Canadian-British drama film directed by Allan A. Goldstein and starring Ethan Erickson, Malcolm McDowell and Christoph Waltz. It is a modern retelling of the Oscar Wilde novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. It was filmed in 2002 in Canada. Plot In an upper side loft in Manhattan, the police are finishing up investigating what appears to be a murder-suicide with apparent Satanic undertones Detective Giatti (Lea) speaks with Henry Wooten (McDowell), who knew both the victims. Henry then spins the tale of how the two first met twenty years ago. In June 1980, Henry was managing Bea Conick (Nitsch), a beautiful blonde German photographer who quickly became a rising star under his guidance. While visiting at a shoot for the new Sauvage fragrance campaign, Henry notices a young man named Louis (Erikson) working as an assistant. Intrigued with his natural modeling capabilities and attractive physical features, Henry snaps photos of him and convinces Bea to give him a go and help jump start a potential modeling career for Louis, though Louis actually aspires to become a photographer himself. After a few shots are taken of Louis, Henry gives him a large posed portrait of Louis himself, snapped by Henry during the shoot. Henry then tells him the narrative of Dorian Gray from the Oscar Wilde novel, who made a wish- a pact with the Devil- that the beautiful portrait painted of him would age instead of the character, leaving him young and attractive forever. This leads to Louis taking on the persona of 'Dorian' for his modeling career. Louis, intrigued by the idea of being young forever like the Wilde character, then writes Dorian in his own blood in the mirror that night. During this, it is revealed that Henry is actually the Devil (as well as implied to be the same Lord Henry Wooten from the actual novel) as he senses the newly christened Dorian's actions and declares a bargain to be struck.