PopSyndicate.com

Another Philip Roth novel makes it to the big screen and unlike The Human Stain, the powers that be decided that The Dying Animal (the novella upon which it is based) was not an appropriate title. Too much of a downer. So they went with something more upbeat: Elegy. You know, that plaintive and mournful form of poetry.

In the wrong hands (an American director, perhaps?) it could have merely been the recounting of a depressing tale, but Spanish director Isabel Coixet (My Life Without Me) manages to coax wonderful performances from Ben Kingsley and Penélope Cruz. Rounding out the cast is Dennis Hopper and an almost unrecognizable Deborah Harry (from Blondie) as Hopper’s long suffering wife.

David Kepesh (Ben Kingsley) is a university literature professor and celebrated radio personality. If you’re a reader of Roth, then you’ve met Kepesh before. His character appears in a series portraying the life of the fictional professor in the preceding novels The Breast (1972) and The Professor of Desire (1977). But you don’t need to have read the other novels (or even The Dying Animal) to understand Kepesh and where he’s headed or what he’s running from. But it aides in his appreciation and fascination with woman’s bodies; especially their breasts.

The film opens with David Kepish as a guest on The Charlie Rose Show. No one does Charlie Rose like Rose (a Rose by any other name…..) Kepesh is promoting his new book on American hedonism. Seemingly self-assured and cocky, the interview strays towards a different topic; old age. Ouch! Kepesh is not quite ready to acknowledge senescence. For him, old age is a dirty word.

As Kepesh narrates his story, Cuban native Consuela Castillo (Penélope Cruz) saunters into our field of vision and into his lecture hall. Dressed in a skirt and white blouse, she’s a beacon of light in an otherwise drab classroom populated with jeans and rumpled t-shirts. How could this consummate surveyor of woman not notice? He has, however, noticed the sexual harassment poster outside the door and decides that to woo this young (30 years younger) woman, he must employ his oft utilized seduction skills. Seeing that he’s not the most handsome man on the planet – he’s not even the most handsome Kepesh – that’s reserved for his angry son Kenneth (Peter Sarsgaard), he pursues Consuelo by comparing her to a Goya painting of a reclining nude depicted in all her splendor. 

Like a skilled hunter, he waits until his prey is disarmed and she is no longer his student. He courts her with a combination of charm, wit and flattery. And much to his surprise, she responds to his advances and they commence what can only be characterized as a doomed romance. I’m not giving anything away here folks – you didn’t really think this would work?  As his fascination morphs into obsession, he devises a way to cope with these new and unfamiliar emotions.

Even Kepesh doesn’t think this romance has long-term potential and attempts to sabotage the relationship so that he can leave with dignity as opposed being left for a younger, perhaps more handsome man. As confessor, Kepesh brings his anxieties and insecurities to friend George (Dennis Hopper) a man sorely in need of some self-actualization therapy himself. They meet either on the racquetball court or in a trendy little bistro for coffee sweetened with advice. Kepesh seems to see all things clearly, except where his libido is concerned. The only other relationships (if you can classify them as such) he has are with his son and a classy businesswoman Carolyn (Patricia Clarkson). The striptease Clarkson performs will make all women over forty head straight for Victoria’s Secret.

It’s no secret that Kepesh has had a lifetime problem with making (and keeping) commitments. He abandoned his wife and son years earlier and is currently cheating on his lover Carolyn with Consuelo. But the women in this film are not fools and both see through his lies and transparent cover-ups. When Consuelo finally does leave, Kepesh is left to deal with another new emotion – profound loss, which is complicated by another grave calamity in his life. And suddenly Consuelo returns – but not for the reasons you would expect. 

Elegy premiered at the 2008 Berlinale where it was nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear award. And if you judged the film by its title, you might miss a solid drama with flashes of brilliance – afterall this is based on the writings of Philip Roth. I’m looking forward to the screen adaptation of American Pastoral. I just hope that this time, the powers that be leave that title untouched.

3