Roger Ebert awarded '' Prick Up Your Ears '' four stars out of four , describing Redgrave 's performance as " superb " , and praising the work of Oldman and Molina : " The great performances in the movie are , of course , at its center . Gary Oldman plays Orton , and Alfred Molina plays Halliwell , and these are two of the best performances of the year ... Oldman is the best young British actor around " . '' Variety '' noted : " The script is witty , the direction fluid , with one of the homosexual orgy scenes in a public toilet almost balletic , and the depiction of the lovers ' life in their flat suitably claustrophobic . " Vincent Canby was less enthused , writing : " The film covers the main events of the Orton life in a manner that is nothing less than distracted . One has little understanding of the fatal intensity – and need – that kept Orton and Halliwell together . " He nevertheless had praise for the film 's acting . Similarly , Pauline Kael lauded Redgrave but said the male relationship was unconvincing and suffused with " modern-style psychosexual moralizing " , and that " unlike Orton , it the script takes no real delight in misbehaving . " Oldman earned a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actor ; Redgrave received BAFTA - and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role . Alan Bennett earned a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay . The film won the award for Best Artistic Contribution at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival . It has a 94 % rating at review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , based on 34 reviews , with an average score of 7.7 / 10
1987 Cannes Film Festival
1987 Cannes Film Festival
Prick Up Your Ears