Movie review: ‘Elegy’ a joyless affair
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Sep 5, 2008 at 5:00am
By Ramona Bissudo
Elegy, an adaptation of Philip Roth’s novella, The Dying Animal, lacks the urgency and sexual spark it needs. The novella isn’t one of Roth’s best works and director Isabel Coixet and screenwriter Nicholas Meyer try to hammer it into workdable cinematic shape, but only partially succeed.
Ben Kingsley is David Kepesh, a shirt-chasing professor who never lets his conquests (the younger the better) get too close. But then new student, Consuela Castillo (Penélope Cruz) enters his life, he finds himself not just chasing her but obsessed with her. However, his jealous fantasies of betrayal eventually drive her away.
Shattered, if not necessarily wiser, Kepesh throws himself into his work, as well as dealing with the loss of two long-time friends. Two years pass and Consuela comes back into his life—with a request that will change everything.
It’s easy to see why Kepesh is obsessed with Consuela; she’s gorgeous and smart. Cruz is wonderful in the role. However, the usually great Kingsley is all gloom and intensity, radiating none of the charisma and sexual magnetism his character, a minor celebrity, is supposed to have. With this in mind, it’s hard to understand why Consuela is attracted to him. And the film never examines things from her point of view.
Elegy also lacks an ethical anchor and has a “twist” that belongs to another film. Overall, despite good intentions and a solid supporting cast (that includes Dennis Hopper, Patricia Clarkson and Deborah Harry), it’s a joyless affair.
Elegy is rated R for sexuality, nudity and language. Running time: 108 minutes. Macsimum rating: 5 out of 10. You can check out the film’s trailer on the QuickTime movie trailer site.
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
