Elegy

Based on Philip Roth’s novella "The Dying Animal," "Elegy" is an impassioned cinematic adaptation from director Isabel Coixet ("The Secret Life of Worlds") that poignantly captures the hypocrisy, lust, and self-imposed torment of David Kepesh, an aging college literature professor (exquisitely played by Ben Kingsley) enslaved to youthful beauty. Mortality plays an increasingly powerful role after David seduces his former student Consuela Castillo (Penelope Cruz) and struggles to maintain their relationship in spite of his jealousy and selfishness that undermines the worshiping affection he lavishes on her. Surprising jabs of humor penetrate the drama as the time-folded narrative flips between David’s candid discussions with his like-minded womanizing poet friend George (Dennis Hopper) and his romanticized affair with Consuela that occurs beyond David's sexual relationship of 20-years with Carolyn (Patricia Clarkson). Bracing, inventive, and embellished with refreshing emotional realism, this is a modern adult movie that moves its audience closer to elemental truths about life, love, and death. It also contains some of the finest acting work of their careers from Kingsley, Cruz, and Hopper.

Rated R, 111 mins. (A)