Elegy

David Kepesh: 'I think it was Betty Davis who said old age is not for sissies. But it was Tolstoy who said the biggest surprise in a man's life is old age. 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'

Elegy, directed by Isabel Coixet (2009) follows character David Kepesh (Kingsley) in his struggle to commit to love untill it is too late. He begins a love affair with his student Consuela Castillo yet he is too afraid to commit to her and refusing to visit her family is the last straw for Consuela. However their love lingures on trough the next couple of years and it is David that Consuela goes to for help after the discovery of her breast cancer.


There are a few strange moments in the film that I can not enplane such as when Davids best friends is dying (Dennis Hopper) and gives him a big kiss. Perhaps this is due to David being the most important person in his life the one person who knows all his secrets.

I know that the film is a 'mournful poem' as the title suggests however I felt that it was too drawn out and had many unexplained moments. I found myself getting tired of seeing Kingsley's face as he was on screen for the majority of the film. Though his performance was exceptional I started to pick out the acting in his voice due to being on screen for so long, which frustrated me. Acting by David's son Kenny (Peter Sarsgaard) was terrible and took away from what could have been a nice side plot of relationships between father and son.


One scene that I though was quite beautiful was when the couple are walking along the beech during a winters day. I think this scene really explains what love is. The film brings up many issues and one in particular is the controversial love between people of different ages and nationalities. As this scene shows, though a cold winters day they can still see the beauty in the beach. It should not matter how old you are or where your from if your in love thats fantastic.

However I could not sympathize with David as he was set up to be too much of a dirty old man, having seduced his students in the past, accepting his friends affair and also continuing his own affair (Patricia Clarkson).


One MAJOR COSTUME FLAW in the film was the use of thin lined tailored jackets. The major NO NO in costuming is not to use thin stripes as they static on camera. It was highly noticeable in a fair amount of scenes, though the style of jacket was appropriate. Cotuming was quite minimal and literal which was ok as it did not take away from the characters did not add any unnecessary symbolism.

Cast:
Penelope Cruz
Ben Kingsley
Dennis Hopper
Patricia Clarkson
Peter Sarsgaard