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Elegy (film)
Encyclopedia
Elegy is a 2008
drama
directed by Spanish
director Isabel Coixet
and based on a Philip Roth novel, The Dying Animal
. Staring Penélope Cruz
and Ben Kingsley
. The film is set in New York City
, but was filmed in Vancouver
.
) is a cultural critic and professor, in a state of 'emancipated manhood'. Previously married, he has a son who has never forgiven him for leaving his mother. His relationships with women are usually casual, brief and sexual in nature. His Pulitzer Prize-winning friend, George O'Hearn (Dennis Hopper
), suggests that he "bifurcate" his life: have conversations and enjoy art with a wife, and "keep the sex just for sex".
Believing himself to be an independent and self-actualized individual, he encounters Consuela Castillo (Penélope Cruz
), a beautiful and confident student who attends one of his lectures. She captures his attention like no other woman, and they begin a serious relationship. David is also in a casual 20-year relationship with Caroline (Patricia Clarkson
), another former student.
Over dinner, Consuela invites David to her graduation party. George advises him to leave her before she leaves him. Consuela waits for an answer, but David only promises, "I'll have to check my schedule." Consuela is frustrated. In the end, he agrees to attend. On the day of the event, David phones Consuela and claims he has blown a tire and is stuck in bad traffic and it will be unavoidably delayed. In reality, he is sitting in his car, anxious about meeting Consuela's family. Heartbroken and annoyed, Consuela hangs up. Over the course of the next two years, David introduces his friend, George, in a subtlety cruel and back-handed manner at a poetry conference; his friend collapses on the stage and later passes away. David's son Kenny is embroiled in an affair.
Two years pass before Consuela and David come in contact again. On New Year's Eve, David arrives home to find a message from Consuela. She mentions that she needs to tell him something before he finds out from someone else. At his apartment, Consuela announces that she has found a lump in her breast and will need surgery. Grief-stricken, David cries and asks her why she didn't tell him sooner. Consuela then asks David to take photos of her breasts, before the doctors 'ruin' them in the surgery. David agrees.
In the final scene, David visits Consuela at the hospital where she is recovering from her surgery. Consuela says, "I will miss you". David responds, "I am here" as he climbs into the hospital bed and gently kisses her face. In a fantasy scene, the film flashes back to David and Consuela on the beach where Consuela told David she loves him.
and a score of 66/100 based on thirty-two reviews on Metacritic
.
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
director Isabel Coixet
Isabel Coixet
Isabel Coixet is a Spanish film director.She received an M.A. in history from the University of Barcelona...
and based on a Philip Roth novel, The Dying Animal
The Dying Animal
The Dying Animal is a short novel by the US writer Philip Roth. It tells the story of senior literature professor David Kepesh, renowned for his literature-themed radio show. Kepesh is finally destroyed by his inability to comprehend emotional commitment...
. Staring Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz Sánchez is a Spanish actress. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón , to critical acclaim...
and Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
. The film is set in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but was filmed in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
.
Plot
David Kepesh (Ben KingsleyBen Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
) is a cultural critic and professor, in a state of 'emancipated manhood'. Previously married, he has a son who has never forgiven him for leaving his mother. His relationships with women are usually casual, brief and sexual in nature. His Pulitzer Prize-winning friend, George O'Hearn (Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
), suggests that he "bifurcate" his life: have conversations and enjoy art with a wife, and "keep the sex just for sex".
Believing himself to be an independent and self-actualized individual, he encounters Consuela Castillo (Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz Sánchez is a Spanish actress. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón , to critical acclaim...
), a beautiful and confident student who attends one of his lectures. She captures his attention like no other woman, and they begin a serious relationship. David is also in a casual 20-year relationship with Caroline (Patricia Clarkson
Patricia Clarkson
Patricia Davies Clarkson is an American actress. After studying drama on the East Coast, Clarkson launched her acting career in 1985, and has worked steadily in both film and television. She twice won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in Six Feet Under...
), another former student.
Over dinner, Consuela invites David to her graduation party. George advises him to leave her before she leaves him. Consuela waits for an answer, but David only promises, "I'll have to check my schedule." Consuela is frustrated. In the end, he agrees to attend. On the day of the event, David phones Consuela and claims he has blown a tire and is stuck in bad traffic and it will be unavoidably delayed. In reality, he is sitting in his car, anxious about meeting Consuela's family. Heartbroken and annoyed, Consuela hangs up. Over the course of the next two years, David introduces his friend, George, in a subtlety cruel and back-handed manner at a poetry conference; his friend collapses on the stage and later passes away. David's son Kenny is embroiled in an affair.
Two years pass before Consuela and David come in contact again. On New Year's Eve, David arrives home to find a message from Consuela. She mentions that she needs to tell him something before he finds out from someone else. At his apartment, Consuela announces that she has found a lump in her breast and will need surgery. Grief-stricken, David cries and asks her why she didn't tell him sooner. Consuela then asks David to take photos of her breasts, before the doctors 'ruin' them in the surgery. David agrees.
In the final scene, David visits Consuela at the hospital where she is recovering from her surgery. Consuela says, "I will miss you". David responds, "I am here" as he climbs into the hospital bed and gently kisses her face. In a fantasy scene, the film flashes back to David and Consuela on the beach where Consuela told David she loves him.
Cast
- Penélope CruzPenélope CruzPenélope Cruz Sánchez is a Spanish actress. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón , to critical acclaim...
as Consuela Castillo - Ben KingsleyBen KingsleySir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
as David Kepesh - Dennis HopperDennis HopperDennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
as George O'Hearn - Patricia ClarksonPatricia ClarksonPatricia Davies Clarkson is an American actress. After studying drama on the East Coast, Clarkson launched her acting career in 1985, and has worked steadily in both film and television. She twice won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in Six Feet Under...
as Carolyn - Peter SarsgaardPeter SarsgaardJohn Peter Sarsgaard is an American film and stage actor. He landed his first feature role in the movie Dead Man Walking in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films Another Day in Paradise and Desert Blue. That same year, Sarsgaard received a substantial role in The Man in the Iron...
as Kenneth Kepesh - Deborah Harry as Amy O'Hearn
- Charlie RoseCharlie RoseCharles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...
as Charlie Rose - Antonio CupoAntonio CupoAntonio Cupo is a Canadian actor.He was born into a family of Italian emigrants who came to Canada in 1968. His father Manlio is from Palomonte, a small town in the province of Salerno, south-western Italy and his mother Lucia from Barletta, a province of Bari.In 2007, Antonio Cupo starred in a...
as Younger Man - Michelle HarrisonMichelle HarrisonMichelle Harrison is a British author, whose debut novel, The 13 Treasures won the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize and has been sold for translation in 16 countries...
as 2nd Student - Sonja BennettSonja BennettSonja Bennett is a Canadian actress who portrayed Marcie Brasko in Battlestar Galactica.Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Bennett has acted in various genre series including Eureka, Stargate Atlantis, Painkiller Jane, The Dead Zone, Cold Squad, as well as other Vancouver filmed television...
as Beth - Emily HolmesEmily HolmesEmily Holmes is a Canadian television and film actress.Holmes was born in Ottawa, Ontario. She has appeared in such television series as Night Visions, Mysterious Ways, The Dead Zone , Stargate SG-1, Dark Angel and more. In 2002, Holmes appeared in Steven Spielberg's Taken as Julie Crawford...
as 1st Student - Chelah HorsdalChelah HorsdalChelah Horsdal is a Canadian actress and model.-Life and career:She grew up in the Kitsilano neighbourhood of Vancouver with her mother, Lindsay. Her father is the folk singer Valdy...
as Susan Reese - Marci T. House as Administration Nurse
- Alessandro JulianiAlessandro JulianiAlessandro Juliani is a Canadian actor, singer, and voice actor. He is notable for playing Tactical Officer Lieutenant Felix Gaeta on the Sci Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica, and Emil Hamilton in Smallville...
as Actor #3 in Play - Tiffany Lyndall-Knight as Actor #2 in Play
- Laura MennellLaura MennellLaura Mennell is a Canadian actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in Watchmen, Montana Sky, and the Emmy nominated Flight 93. Mennell currently co-stars on the Syfy television series Alphas...
as Cute Girl - Andre Lamal as Talk Show Host
- Shaker PalejaShaker PalejaShaker Paleja is Canadian film, television, and voice-over actor, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His voice-over work is known to anime fans of such series as Angel Links , and he regularly guest stars on numerous live-action series such as Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Kyle XY,...
as 3rd Student - Kris PopeKris PopeKris Pope is a Canadian film and television actor.-Early life:He was born in Calgary, Alberta, and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a younger sister Carly Pope — who became an actress — and a younger brother...
as Consuela's Brother - Julian RichingsJulian RichingsJulian Richings is an English-born Canadian actor. He appeared in over 50 Canadian films and 20 separate television series.-Life and career:...
as Actor in Play #1 - Tania SaulnierTania SaulnierTania Saulnier is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for her role in the film Slither. Saulnier was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Once a competitive dancer, and motor-sport enthusiast Tania's first notable acting role came in 1998 with a small part as Marcey Bennett, in one...
as George's Girlfriend - Michael Teigen as Waiter
Critical reception
Elegy received generally favorable reviews from the majority of critics. It currently holds a 75% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and a score of 66/100 based on thirty-two reviews on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
Top ten lists
The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008.- 3rd - Kimberly Jones, The Austin Chronicle
- 4th - Mike Russell, The OregonianThe OregonianThe Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
- 5th - Marjorie Baumgarten, The Austin Chronicle
- 6th - Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader