But for the sentimental and trite finale, Elegy is a beautifully realised and profound film on love, lust, loss and longing. Based on a Philip Roth novella, The Dying Animal, about the obsessive love of an aging professor for his young student, what sets the film apart is its meditative tone and powerful performances from Kingsley, Cruz and Clarkson.
David Kepesh (Kingsley) is a carefully debauched professor, one who preys on his students only after they’ve graduated from his class. And so, at one of the graduation parties, he trains his eye on the Cuban student Consuela (Cruz). He is taken in by her guileless charm and emotional centredness. She, in turn, is impressed with his knowledge of art, his piano skills and an original letter written by Kafka that he hangs on his wall. What begins as "sex for the sake of sex" for the lascivious professor gradually acquires intense shades. He falls deeply in love. Along with it enters the consciousness of age, the insecurities and pangs of jealousy. There’s the anxiety that some young man would take her away. So should he leave her because she will go away anyhow? She’s left to wonder what he wants from the relationship. "Who am I to you?" she asks.
The mellow background score heightens the film’s inherent musicality. The camera glides on the female form in a wonderfully matter-of-fact manner though some of the graphic scenes seem to have been clumsily mangled by the censors.
Elegy is a mature, lyrical film. Its idea of romance is simple, straightforward and real. Its underlined tenderness is deeply affecting. The relationship grows through the conversations Kepesh has with himself and with people around him—with Consuela, with his disgruntled son (Peter Sarsgaard), his poet friend (Dennis Hopper) and his constant companion (Clarkson). In fact, his relationship with Clarkson is perhaps even more compelling—steady and solid despite the lack of commitment; almost verging on domesticity without getting weighed down with the banalities. It’s in this context that the end fails to connect. Not all relationships ask for neat resolutions and the film falters by bringing things a full circle in a disappointingly maudlin way.
High Fives
Bollywood
1. 8x10 Tasveer
2. Ek Se Bare Do
3. Raftar ka Junoon (dubbed)
4. Pal Pal Dil Ke Ssaat
5. Aloo Chaat
Hollywood
1. Hannah Montana: The Movie
2. Fast & Furious
3. Monsters vs Aliens
4. Observe and Report
5. Knowing
Contemporary Jazz
1. Chris Botti: In Boston (Chris Botti)
2. Send One Your Love (Boney James)
3. Piety Street (John Scofield)
4. Modern Art (The Rippingtons)
5. Rhythm & Romance (Kenny G)
Courtesy: Film Information
