Elegy

Rating: * * * *

Verdict

:

Well-acted but depressing meditation on lust, morality and growing old.

Elegy

is a sombre and sparse reflection on love, lust and commitment based on the novella

The Dying Animal

by Philip Roth.

There is nothing melodramatic or sentimental about director Isabel Coixet's adaptation. Its cold, detached tone suits the dominating sense of hopelessness of the story and, while this lessens the emotional impact,

Elegy

is an intelligent and well acted romantic drama.

Ben Kingsley is literary Professor David Kepesh, who after a brief marriage in his younger days has spent the rest of his life avoiding commitment. Claiming in the film's confessional narration to have "always been vulnerable to female beauty" he happily plays the lecherous lecturer, seducing his students (once their grades have been posted, to avoid sexual harassment suits).

When he falls for a new student Consuela (Cruz) he's consumed by her beauty, and finds himself acting like a jealous love-struck teenager, stalking her, not trusting her, and questioning her about her past lovers. His best friend, Pulitzer Prize winning poet George (Dennis Hopper), who habitually cheats on his own long-suffering wife (Debbie Harry) sums it up brilliantly when he suggests he should "stop worrying about growing old, and think about growing up".

A self-centered narcissist who wants it all, David desperately wants to possess Consuela, something he knows is unlikely due to their 30-year age difference, and yet he refuses to commit to her, even when he knows that's what she wants.

Adding to David's troubles is his difficult relationship with his son Kenny (Peter Sarsgaard) who is still bitter about his father's decision to leave his family. Also, his ongoing romance with Consuela complicates the one uncomplicated sexual relationship he has, with another ex-student Carolyn (Patricia Clarkson), a successful businesswoman who is only in town once every three weeks.

Unlike Nicole Kidman and Anthony Hopkins in

The Human Stain

(another Philip Roth novel, also adapted for the screen by

Elegy

screenwriter Nicholas Meyer), Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz have the chemistry to pull this story off.

Kingsley, despite the hackneyed Lothario professor character, is fascinating to watch, and Cruz is more than just the picture perfect image David believes her to be, particularly in the final act where she works hard to squeeze some empathy from us.

Unfortunately, about three-quarters of the way through Coixet loses focus, and events start to drag, which is a shame as the final act presents an emotionally challenging twist to David's story. Although the detached tone of the film alienates us from the characters, the strong cast's performances will keep you transfixed.

Francesca Rudkin

Cast

: Penelope Cruz, Ben Kingsley

Director

: Isabel Coixet

Running time:

108 mins

Rating

: M (sex scenes and offensive language)