An elegy is a somber, lamenting poem. The film by the same name, directed by Isabel Coixet and starring Ben Kingsley and Penélope Cruz, captures these characteristics on screen, resulting in a film that is excruciating and depressing, yet oddly moving.
An adaptation of the Philip Roth novella The Dying Animal,"" ""Elegy"" follows drama professor and critic David Kepesh (Kingsley), an aging bachelor who insists on a life of empty sex and ""independence"" until he falls for his student, Consuela (Cruz). Suddenly flung from his womanizing, Kepesh struggles to adapt to a serious relationship, evading commitments like meeting Consuela's family while growing increasingly possessive of her. ""I know she'll leave me for a younger man, because I was once that young man,"" Kepesh concludes sadly, confiding in his poet friend George (Dennis Hopper).
At first, Kepesh seems sure he knows how the whole affair will pan out - Consuela will just be another fun diversion between racquetball with George and lonely nights at his bachelor pad with a bottle of Maker's Mark. However, as Kepesh and Consuela's relationship deepens, the crude sexual imagery Kepesh had associated with Consuela erodes, and he soon begins to think of her as a divine work of art, not just to be enjoyed, but possessed.
George unabashedly mocks the idea of relationship commitment, openly cheating on his bitter wife and encouraging Kepesh to move on to his next conquest. Hopper clearly has a lot of fun with his part, making the audience wish they were best friends with him.
Kenneth, meanwhile, is self-involved and proud, like his father, stubbornly refusing to leave his wife as he gets deeply involved with another woman. Sarsgaard is likable in this role but doesn't get enough screen time to really flesh his character out into much more than a whiny, married man.
Kepesh's growing fear of Consuela's abandonment makes him do and say things that surprise even him. Kingsley makes this tension palpable on screen through silent glances at Consuela that turn from confident and proud to nervous and searching.
This is the kind of direction that gives art films their names, but if you can't get into the relationship drama, you'll probably be sitting in the theater wondering what everyone is moping about.
Grade: AB
