Elegy

OK. Professor starts an affair with one of his students. You may have prejudices about that. Not about this kind of affairs, but about this kind of movies.

But it's a story about aging and jealousy and so far touching. The professor goes through hell, including all objections he's supposed to have about his own behavior in this certainly true love. A love which is regarded as ridiculous. Most so by himself.

Cruz and Kingsley are great as you could expect, but the greatest performance is delivered by Dennis Hopper. A certain amount of sentimentality is a little disturbing, but this film obviously takes aging as an emotional problem seriously.

Ben Kingsley, who is capable of playing practically any role, seems to be remarkable at playing men who are very smart but their thoughts are a lot less than pure most of the time. Elegy is a film that could easily have been written with him in mind, though by the time it's over, Penelope Cruz has stolen away with it, and changed Kingsley's character in the progression. It's properly made.

Kingsley seems to be just about the entire movie as a self-seeking book critic. He was married in the past, and has a well-to-do son. He got divorced years ago and has a sex pal relationship with another woman who he sees rarely, played by Patricia Clarkson, who I can totally see having the capability for no-strings occasional liaisons. He is frequently attracted to his female students, and sometimes has sex with some of them. Still, to steer clear of trouble, he always waits until they graduate. With one of these women, Penelope Cruz's character, a more profound relationship grows.

But Kingsley has never matured in this manner. He is preoccupied with jealousy, certain that she is seeing someone else, someone younger, more handsome and virile. He even shows up at a dance he knows she's attending, to check up on her. His doubt frustrates and deters her, because she cannot put up with not being trusted.

When the time comes, the movie makes a dramatic bend which surrounds all the deepest bona fide feelings of the story. And in these scenes, Cruz is peacefully compelling and dreadfully real. You come to appreciate why the director, Isabel Coixet, cast Cruz rather than a younger, authentically college-age actress. An actress necessitates wisdom and the familiarity of time to play these scenes, and Cruz must have both, especially now that I'm seeing her shortly after her incredible performance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

That this nuanced drama with erudite cultural ambiance is not merely a self-indulgent male writer's wet dream about the horny scoundrel and the exquisite and charming Venus is a relief. That it sees Manhattan plainly as a location benefits this story because it is a place where we suppose things like this are liable to take place, not like the typical burgh where we live. Then there is Dennis Hopper as the old comrade with whom Kingsley has coffee and plays racquetball, who tries to bring wisdom to Kingsley's activities, but sees no light at the end of the tunnel. And Peter Sarsgaard as Kingsley's son, with problems of his own, and a father who has become not only a shame but an unrelated matter. But what the movie's not afraid to do is let you in on Kingsley's feelings after awhile. Who cares about all these things he should accept as responsibility when he's so immersed in love for this new, young person?

'Elegy' is a small, yet powerful film for adults. Focusing on a relationship between a well-respected college professor (Ben Kingsley) and his former student (Penelope Cruz), 'Elegy' shows the audience a multi-faceted, complex man whose past experiences with women and his own family have dampered his ability to participate in a healthy relationship with a woman he is truly infatuated with.

The film was carried by a masterful performance by Kingsley, who successfully portrayed Kepesh as a complex man with complex relationships. His desire and lust for Cruz was so emotional and real that I believed it for every second until the very end. Kingsley was able to spark empathy with the audience as a victim of numerous losses in his life: his wife, family, son, best friend, love interest (Cruz), and most importantly, it was his loss of youth that made Kepesh the man he is when we first meet him.

I truly believed his internal struggles with adapting to life as a man romantically involved with a much younger woman (30 years his junior).

When a film offers some good quotes and/or insights concerning how we live our lives it is for me always worth the ticket, and Elegy offers plenty. It is definitely not for the entertainment junkie, but it is nicely paced and keeps the intellect awake for the duration of the experience.

Ben Kingsley is an art and literature professor who still has not grown up, and this is mainly represented by him not being able to have a committed adult relationship, his jealousy, and the fact that he still holds a silly, bitter grudge against his son. It is a film about what growing up means, but also the possible pain and loneliness growing old.

... and David Kepesh (Sir Ben Kingsley) knows it, as he quotes her in the beginning of "Elegy". Kepesh is no sissy, but old age isn't for him either. He's a professor who's had a "friendship with benefits" with a woman (Patricia Clarkson) for twenty years, as he begins a torrid affair with the beautiful Consuela (Penélope Cruz), thirty years younger than him. Consuela and David fall in love with each other, but harder than finding the right person is the fear of losing them, and they will find some obstacles to their relationship.

This is an adult film about love, fear of commitment/loss, and death. Isabel Coixet proves again to be the most exciting name to come from Spain since Pedro Almodóvar – after "My Life Without Me", "The Secret Life of Words" and her segment "Bastille" from "Paris, je t'Aime", she delivers another mature, sensitive, and very peculiar film (her next project, "Map of Sounds of Tokyo", looks very promising as well). Sir Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson are exceptional as usual; Dennis Hopper, as Kingsley's best friend, gives his best performance in a long time (he has a fantastic scene with Kingsley and Deborah Harry, who plays his wife). Peter Sarsgaard is also pretty good as Kingsley's son, and although Cruz doesn't shine as much as in "Non Ti Muovere", "Volver" or "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", she fits the role and makes you believe any man would be easily infatuated and obsessed with her.

The ending might seem a little melodramatic at first, but it's both poignant and adequate. Although not a perfect film, "Elegy" is easily one of the most poetic, rewarding experiences you'll have this year. Don't miss it. 9/10.