Prick Up Your Ears

This week's most rewarding drama pick in the US on fuboTV and MGM+ Amazon Channel, and in the UK on ITVX Premium is Prick Up Your Ears. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. 103 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Gary Oldman's performance alone is worth the time investment. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on fuboTV.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Prick Up Your Ears earns its spot. Character-driven storytelling at its most effective — Prick Up Your Ears earns every emotional beat it goes for. When the young, attractive Joe Orton meets the older, more introverted Kenneth Halliwell at drama school, he befriends the kindred spirit and they start an affair. As Orton becomes more comfortable with his sexuality and starts to find success with his writing, Halliwell becomes increasingly alienated and jealous, ultimately tapping into a dangerous rage. Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina lead a cast doing genuinely serious work here. It hit screens in 1987. The performances in Prick Up Your Ears do a lot of work in the silences between the dialogue. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, Prick Up Your Ears delivers. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Gary Oldman's work here is the kind that gets referenced in career retrospectives. It makes everything else feel thin by comparison.

Prick Up Your Ears was released in 1987, directed by Stephen Frears. The full 111-minute film is available to watch now. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.