Product Review

There are very few men who wouldn€t eagerly sell their souls to be with Penelope Cruz (or whatever character she happens to be playing). But with Elegy, director Isabel Coixet and screenwriter Nicholas Meyer (adapting a novel by Philip Roth) pose some thorny questions: How many are willing, let alone able, to see past a woman€s beauty and embrace her true being? And when beauty fades, what then? David Kepesh (Ben Kingsley) is a successful New York author, teacher, and literature maven; a semi-celebrity due to regular TV appearances, he€s self-satisfied if not exactly smug, seemingly unconcerned about his advancing age (he€s now in his sixties, but as he tells us in voice-over, "In my head, nothing€s changed") or his strained relationship with the son (Peter Sarsgaard) who still resents him for abandoning his marriage years ago, and content with his occasional and purely sexual relationship with a middle-aged businesswoman (Patricia Clarkson). All of that changes when Consuela Castillo (Cruz) enrolls in one of his classes. More than 30 years his junior, she€s not just gorgeous but mature and smart as well. And for all his worldly cool, charm, and experience, once he€s involved with Consuela, David turns into just another possessive, jealous, obsessed ("On the nights she isn€t with me, I am deformed"), and insecure man, convinced that it€s only a matter of time before their age difference pulls them apart. It€s a given that David will see to it that his self-fulfilling prophecy comes true. But will his lies and fear of commitment prove to be his ruination, or will the tragedies that ensue help him find a path to redemption? The film€s various performers (including Dennis Hopper as David€s best pal) and overall sophisticated, grownup tone, along with Cruz€s almost impossible beauty, make Elegy consistently watchable and compelling. --Sam Graham