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| The Human Stain (50%) |
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Plot:
Cultural critic David Kepesh finds his life -- which he indicates is a state of "emancipated manhood" -- thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who awakens a sense o...( read more
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:December 3, 2008
It certainly had to be difficult to adapt "The Dying Animal" onto the screen. First-rate American writer Philip Roth usually writes from first-person perspective, in a manner of inner monologue and he doesn't leave much air while he does that. His writing is rich with description of emotion and thought and, as we know, these are the two main things one can't show on screen since they have to come out from the events and interaction between the characters. Screenwriter Nicholas Meyer took his chances few years ago with "The Human Stain" and failed miserably, the result being a messy, unconvincing drama (with both Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman miscasted, having no chemistry whatsoever). He's supposed to recognized his past mistakes and yet he didn't. Not that "Elegy" is a failure. It just doesn't do a full justice to the book.
Let's approach the picture from the perspective of the book then. "The Dying Animal" is a powerful 120 page novella. It's as frightening and disgusting as it is fascinating, truthful and, ultimately, sad. Really, a hard-to-put-down one. The level of Roth's human understanding is remarkable. With full complexity he draws a inner life of an 62-year David Kepesh (mostly convincing sir Ben Kingsley) who, upon starting an affair with 24 year old student Consuela Castillo (fairly good Penelope Cruz) starts to contemplate issues such as aging, death, the power of the female beauty, the fear of being left alone, sexual desire and loneliness. It's understandable that with that amount of themes, one have to make choices. The picture then focuses much on fear of being left alone and aging. The matter of sex isn't one bit as nasty and nearly as graphic, in fact is mostly stiffy, which makes the character of Kepesh lack certain level of emotional desperation, I believe, crucial, in Roth's book.
There's a brilliant thread, secondary yet important for our deeper understading of Kepesh in the book about relation with his son, Kenny, played by Peter Sarsgaard. Sarsgaard, a fine actor, does what he can as an angry, frustrated son to make a relation with his father look convincing, but the structure of the script won't allow him since he shows up out of nowhere in the middle of the picture and whole meeting, full of resentment and anger lacks nessessary energy, turning out to be a wasted oppurtunity.
Isabel Coixet impressed me, although not fully, with her "The Secret Life of Words" and she certainly was a good choice to direct the story since she's good at building the whole picture upon two characters. She effectively plays with shadows, drawing the intimate, almost dark atmosphere of a relationship, uses objective, static shots and edit them minimalisticly, focusing our full attention on the interaction of the two.
"Elegy" may be one of those films that makes you turn your attention to the book, but there are great moments here. Dennis Hopper is wonderful as Kepesh's friend and every scene with him is fantastic. Same goes for every minute of Patricia Clarkson's time on screen. It's an elegant, intelligent drama which - thankfully - doesn't take itself too seriously, and yet, it leave us with a sense that something is missing here.
Not to be sarcastic, Nicholas Meyer is getting better with each adaption. Maybe then one day we'll see a picture on the level of Roth's literary talent. -
MCT:October 14, 2008George O'Hearn: "Beautiful women are invisible; we're so dazzled by the outside that we never make it inside."
Charismatic professor David Kepesh (Ben Kingsley) glories in the pursuit of adventurous female students but never lets any woman get too close. When gorgeous Consuela Castillo (Penélope Cruz) enters his classroom, however, his protective veneer dissolves. Her raven-haired beauty both captivates and unsettles him.
Even if Kepesh declares her body a perfect work of art, Consuela is more than an object of desire. She has a strong sense of herself and an emotional intensity that challenges his preconceptions. Kepesh's need for Consuela becomes an obsession, but ultimately his jealous fantasies of betrayal drive her away. Shattered, Kepesh faces up to the ravages of time, immersing himself in work and confronting the loss of old friends. Then, two years later, Consuela comes back into his life?with an urgent, desperate request that will change everything.
Review
Elegy is an excellent film. I've been never really a fan of Ben Kingsley but I've seen him in countless films before but I just didn't stick with his movie career. But now, with Elegy, I can say that I'm already a fan of his. Ben's performance is one for the books, it was powerful, intense and the chemistry between him and Penelope Cruz's Consuela is surprisingly amazing. The character development between the two is told in a touching, beautiful way by director Isabel Coixet and I'd like to think that what they had is more than a carnal affair. It was a romantic friendship and they were there for each other in times of dire need. Penelope Cruz gives the best performance yet whose acting slate also includes heavy set dramas like Volver and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. This easily makes her one of the best actresses of her generation. Elegy is an erotic tale with a sense of beauty and brilliance. A must see. -
MCT:September 22, 2008
Adapted from a short story by Philip Roth, "Elegy" tells the story of David Kepesh (Ben Kingsley), who is a professor at Columbia University in New York. Although having grown old (Kepesh is 62 when we first meet him), he still longs for young woman and uses his class as a means to meet them. To avoid legal trouble, Kepesh plans parties after the grades have been submitted and the semester is over - it is then that he finally stalks his prey that he's been eyeing for the entirety of the semester. This year, he's been especially enthralled with Consuela (Penélope Cruz).
David gets his wish and sleeps with Conseula within the first 15 minutes of the film. This, however, proves to be incredibly different from his previous one night stands. There's something different about Consuela - something that he just can't seem to let go. And Consuela is not prepared to be a one night stand, nor did she sleep with him due to being impressed by his status. While this seems to be leading to the perfect relationship, it's David's jealousy and self consciousness that gets in the way. Being three decades older than Conseula puts him in a constant nervous fit that she'll find another man. His poet friend, George (Dennis Hopper), begs him to end the relationship before he's humiliated. It's the insecurities of David that severely put the relationship in jeopardy.
Dealing with a character like David - a somewhat smarmy and cocky intellectual, the film is bound to come off a little bit pretentious. There's conversations about Francisco Goya and Franz Kafka over fine dining and candlelight, and that familiar quietness and brooding self-awareness of the narrator sulking in his jealousy and lust. Though, this perfectly compliments David's character. Near the end, the film really starts to become far more humanistic after a dark turn, and all of the masturbatory intellectual gibberish is stashed aside. Dennis Hopper's character argues that David can't see past the beauty of Conseula and that there is much more that lies beneath the eye - and the exact same thing can be said of David's character.
There's a large amount of nudity and sexual dialogue in the film. However, it's handled so gently that it's never offensive. Penélope Cruz confidently lays naked in a bed in the least pornographic of images, and even the surfaced lustful desires of David are told in such a quiet way that it's not uncomfortable. While a younger audience may have troubles digesting the material (such as a scene in which Conseula mentions a previous lover having a fetish for menstruation), I felt this was more sweet than crude, more delicate than repulsive.
My main gripe with the film is that I was completely unwilling to follow the story where it turns at the end. This is a film that's certainly about mortality - a quote in the book tells us that time, for the young, is made up of what is past. For the old, time is counted by the closeness of death. However it's such an unwelcome turn to an otherwise compelling story, and it almost wraps things up a bit too nicely. It's not melodramatic, but at the same time it's not as charming as the quietness of the rest of the film. I felt as though director Coixet was determined to not leave a dry eye in the seats, although things were just taken a little bit too far. I'm not really sure what it was the didn't work... but, I certainly was completely lost by the time the credits rolled on screen.
"Elegy" can be somewhat compared to last year's masterpiece "Away from Her" in it's mature approach to providing insight into love and mortality. Ben Kingsley, Penélope Cruz, and Dennis Hopper could all be considered come Oscar season - however, the greatness of the actors and some brilliant scenes never can quite reach a satisfying whole. I enjoyed the complexities of David's jealousy and he truly came off as a fully three-dimension character, although I did feel that Conseula was a bit too idealized for my liking. I'd give a mild recommendation to the film, although I was certainly expecting a bit more from it. -
MCT:August 28, 2008
Initially I really didn't like this film and the central character I found quite annoying. A man fast approaching old-age and still espousing hedonism and easy sex? I wanted to scream "grow up!". But by the end of the film I was completely won over and, to my shame, I cried like a baby!
Both Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz give very credible and moving performances. They are assisted very ably by the secondary actors too. Patricia Clarkson - looking quite stunning, smoking in bed with 60s Denueve Hair or being seductive in just underwear and killer heals. And a curmudgeonly turn by Dennis Hopper who, rather against type, is quite warm and cuddly.
It's good to see a film that can give us flawed imperfect people and doesn't manipulate us into judging them - instead of the usual nice fluffy types that can render this kind of film mawkish and sentimental. It also makes a change to not be patronised with a tidy ending (whether happy or sad). Not only are things left quite open about the characters fate but also with questions left unanswered. A bit like life really. -
MCT:August 27, 2008
Extremely well acted. All the relationships felt very true except the main one, which was hard to fathom.
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MCT:January 5, 2009I couldn't really get into this. It's nothing to do with Ben Kingsley's acting because he's quite good as always. I think the main reason I couldn't like it was due to the very flat pacing of the film, as it never really gets exciting enough. The script was pretty decent and Cruz gets her boobs out though. The main characters were sad and boring but i could see them as real people. Not bad, not great.
