Elegy

A film set in New York. David is a professor of literature and a known critic. In his sixties; he ended his marriage years ago, is at odds with his son and attaches himself to nobody. He has relationships with his students, but not before term ends; he has made a rule of it. Consuela is a student who joins his class. She is from a Cuban family; calm, measured and open about her interest. The relationship begins. David steps outside his habit: he becomes curious about her, jealous, and tries to control. What the film is interested in is not the difference in age but the man's own fear. Consuela wants to introduce him to her family and he does not go; the consequences shape the second half. There are other lines: a woman David has seen for a long time and a poet friend he has talked to for years. Both tell him things about his own life. The last section goes somewhere else entirely and the film changes register there. The source is Philip Roth's short novel. Ben Kingsley plays David, Penélope Cruz plays Consuela, Dennis Hopper his friend and Patricia Clarkson the woman he has long been seeing. Isabel Coixet directed. A strong production for anyone who likes relationship drama and literary adaptation. For a viewer wanting a likeable protagonist, David stays at his own centre throughout.