Elegy (2008)
Average Rating: 6.7/10
Reviews Counted: 115
Fresh: 86 | Rotten: 29
An intelligent, adult, and provocative Philip Roth adaptation that features classy performances, Elegy is never quite the sum of its parts.
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 25 | Rotten: 7
An intelligent, adult, and provocative Philip Roth adaptation that features classy performances, Elegy is never quite the sum of its parts.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 72,138
My Rating
Movie Info
Adapted from author Philip Roth's novel The Dying Animal, director Isabel Coixet's elegant tale of obsession explores the relationship between a highly respected professor (Ben Kingsley) and an impossibly gorgeous grad student (Penélope Cruz). As their relationship deepens, the professor finds his ego challenged by the girl's enchanting beauty. Dennis Hopper and Patricia Clarkson co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Penelope Cruz
Consuela Castillo -
Ben Kingsley
David Kepesh -
Dennis Hopper
George -
Patricia Clarkson
Carolyn -
Peter Sarsgaard
Kenny Kapesh -
Deborah Harry
Amy -
Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose -
Antonio Cupo
2nd Student -
Michelle Harrison
Beth -
Emily Holmes
1st Student -
Chelah Horsdal
Reese -
Marci T. House
Administration Nurse -
Alessandro Juliani
Actor #3 in Play -
Tiffany Lyndall-Knight
Actor #2 in Play -
Andre Lamal
Talk Show Host -
Shaker Paleja
3rd Student -
Kris Pope
Consuela's Brother -
Julian Richings
Actor in Play #1 -
Tania Saulnier
George's Girlfriend -
Michael Teigen
Waiter -
Laura Mennell
Cute Girl
ADVERTISEMENT
Elegy Trailer & Photos
All Critics (119) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (87) | Rotten (30) | DVD (2)
With his fierce, impeccable craft Kingsley shows us around David's tortured, preening, desperate psyche.
Sparse, low-budget drama, helmed by Spaniard Isabel Coixet, intelligently translates Roth's meditation on lust and mortality without soft-pedaling its narrator's brutally honest, unabashedly sexist views.
Penelope Cruz is outstanding in an otherwise lame male fantasy.
Elegy is a rare treat: a serious film that, thanks to Kingsley and the rest, doesn't seem to take itself too seriously.
A remarkable example of the actor at his best -- conveying wounded hurt or burning hunger with a glance.
Elegy gives Ben Kingsley one of the best roles of his career.
A proven favorite, the Horny Old Devil Professor - Ben Kingsley in Isabel Coixet's intelligent but weepy drama.
Your final affection for this literary treat of sorts is how well you accept the finale, which is touching, and intellectually potent, yet possibly one depressant too many.
There are moments when the story sags, as it postures and revels in its own eloquence, but with strong performances and a moving final act, this is still a fine, thought-provoking film.
No se ubica entre lo mejor de la directora Isabel Coixet, pero es de todos modos una interesante y sensible reflexión sobre la soledad, el amor, el sexo y la madurez. Gran trabajo de Ben Kingsley.
A film which stays and stays.
An intelligent tale of aging, beauty, love and loss.
Coixet has blunted the impact of the novel's ending just as she has softened Roth's misanthropic depiction of Kepesh and, as a result, she's taken flak for being over-polite. I didn't care.
Ben Kingsley is extraordinary, but Penelope Cruz is just astounding as Consuela. It is really a beautiful film.
Beauty, obsession and longing are the central themes of this hypnotic but ultimately flawed drama in which Ben Kingsley's ageing college professor falls in lust with Penelope Cruz' stunning and vulnerable student.
A carefully observed, well acted autumnal character study that plays nicely on the small screen, in a dimly lit den, with a nice glass of wine.
Penelope's gullible college coed swoons when the lecherous lecturer played by Ben Kingsley confesses that he's fallen in love with her breasts. You've come a long way backwards, baby. Penelope Cruz Boob Fetish Blues.
Penelope's gullible college coed swoons when the lecherous lecturer played by Ben Kingsley confesses that he's fallen in love with her breasts. You've come a long way backwards, baby. Penelope Cruz Boob Fetish Blues.
runs out of ideas, and efforts to jog the proceedings can't get it back on track
Audience Reviews for Elegy
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
-
- George: Beautiful women are invisible.
- David Kepesh: Invisible? What the hell does that mean? They jump out at you. A beautiful woman stands out... stands apart. You can't miss her.
- George: But we never actually see the person. We see the beautiful shell. We're blocked by the beauty barrier. Yes. We're so dazzled by the outside, we never make it inside.
-
- David Kepesh: Why all this talk about Kafka, Goya and her Cuban family? Don't get me wrong, it's great that her family's Cuban and she enjoys my class. But I go on yakking away mainly because I want to fuck her.
-
- David Kepesh: Old age sneaks up on you, and the next thing you know you're asking yourself, I'm asking myself, Why can't an old man act his real age? How is it possible for me to still be involved in the carnal aspects of the human comedy? Because, in my head, nothing has changed.
-
- David Kepesh: I think it was Bette Davis who said: 'Old age is not for sissies'. But it was Tolstoy who said that 'the biggest surprise in a man's life is old age'.
-
- David Kepesh: Times passes when you're not looking.
-
- David Kepesh: When you make love to a woman you get revenge for all the things that defeated you in life.
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Elegy yet.
Latest News on Elegy
March 16, 2009:
RT on DVD: Exclusive Clips From Twilight, Punisher: War ZoneIt's a big week for fans of Stephenie Meyer's vampire romance Twilight, which was adapted into the...
June 23, 2008:
Ben Kingsley Is EverywhereThink you're seeing Ben Kingsley everywhere lately? It's no optical illusion -- his roles in The...
What's Hot On RT
Bradley Cooper's Best Movies
Trailer for new Coen Bros movie
Fast & Furious cars gallery
Blockbusters ranked!
Featured on RT
- Total Recall: Bradley Cooper's Best Movies 23
- Parental Guidance: Epic and Beautiful Creatures 2
- Comic Book Movies You Can Watch Online 6
- In Pictures: The Cars of Fast & Furious 0
- Digital Multiplex: Warm Bodies and Aftershock 8
- Discover the Best-Reviewed Films in Summer Movie Scorecard 2013 0
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Last Stand and Side Effects 17
Top Headlines
-
Vin Diesel Says Fast & Furious 7 Will Take Place in L.A.
0
-
10 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About the Hangover Movies
1
-
Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan, and David S. Goyer Talk Man of Steel
0
-
New Transporter Trilogy in the Works
0
-
Richard Linklater Plans "Spiritual Sequel" to Dazed and Confused
0
-
King of Kong Filmmaker Seeks Funding for Lost Limb Documentary
0
-
Which Film Franchise Has Been the Best for Female Characters?
6
Foreign Titles
- Elegy oder die Kunst zu lieben (DE)
- Elegy (2008) (CA)










Top Critic