Film Reviews

Elegy

• Rating:
• Director: Isabel Coixet.
• Starring: Ben Kingsley, Penelope Cruz, Patricia Clarkson, Dennis Hopper.
• Details: US / 113mins (16).

In romantic dramas and comedies, the plot has only a few routes to take: he's poor and she's rich or vice versa; parents try to break them up; they've only so much time together; a forgotten lover returns to wreak havoc. But what if the obstacles are the character's own fears and insecurities? What if all that's standing in the way of happiness is themselves? That's the pitch for Elegy, an adaptation of Phillip Roth's novella The Dying Animal, and what a breath of fresh air it is. Kingsley plays cultural critic and charming professor, David Kepesh, who falls for pretty Cuban student Consuela (Cruz). Consuela falls madly in love with David, but because she's beautiful and thirty years his junior, David's insecurities take hold and he builds a barrier between them by disappointing her at every turn - drive her away before she leaves. Shopgirl had a similar plotline – Steve Martin's old guy falls for Claire Danes but treats her badly - but whereas that story sided with Danes, Elegy sides with Kinglsey. No, 'sides' is the wrong word - 'explains' is more apt. Through Kingsley's honest and self-deprecating voiceover - "This girl will never tell me she yearns for my c@#k" - we're given an insight into a remarkable and, more importantly, realistic character. There will be no last minute dash for the train with Kepesh; no hoisting a boom box playing her song outside her bedroom window; no crying in the rain - that stuff happens in the movies, and director Coixet, along with writer Nicholas Meyer, has no interest in making a romantic film dictated by Hollywood principles. Kingsley and Cruz are flawless and are offered strong support by Patricia Clarkson, the woman who David has a commitment-free sexual relationship with, and Dennis Hopper, a sage-like poet who offers David advice - "Stop worrying about growing old and start worrying about growing up."

Review by Gavin Burke