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Elegy

Play trailer Poster for Elegy R 2008 1h 51m Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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74% Tomatometer 121 Reviews 61% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
David Kepesh (Ben Kingsley), a renowned professor, has no interest in monogamy. Instead, he prefers to dabble in lustful flings with women. When he meets Consuela Castillo (Penélope Cruz), a student in her 20s, he is intensely attracted to her. Though his trusted friend George (Dennis Hopper) warns him not to become overly attached to the much younger Consuela, David begins to feel that his relationship with the student may become serious. However, his personal reservations may doom the affair.
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Elegy

Elegy

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Critics Consensus

An intelligent, adult, and provocative Philip Roth adaptation that features classy performances, Elegy is never quite the sum of its parts.

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Critics Reviews

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Deborah Ross The Spectator 08/23/2018
The stillness of the performances combined with Coixet's direction, which takes it time, and that bloody piano tinkling and tinkling away make it all rather heavy going; makes you feel as if you've just swum uphill through treacle. Go to Full Review
Sandra Hall Sydney Morning Herald 04/10/2009
4/5
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. Go to Full Review
Jonathan F. Richards Film.com 11/10/2008
With his fierce, impeccable craft Kingsley shows us around David's tortured, preening, desperate psyche. Go to Full Review
Bárbara Escamilla Cinemanía (Spain) 11/06/2020
3/5
A sincere and careful but unexpectedly subdued film. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Felicia Feaster Charleston City Paper 01/27/2020
Smart and devastatingly sad, Elegy is at heart a film about the many damned-to-fail ways we try to protect ourselves from the inevitable certainty of death. Go to Full Review
Mattie Lucas From the Front Row 07/07/2019
3/4
A finely crafted, intelligently written work, featuring some exceptional performances by Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Brad S. R Mar 28 A thoughtful and moving mediation on love, old age, and May-December relationships. See more 08/08/2023 Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz David is a teacher who used to be married back in the 1960s But he's only ever bounced from woman to woman never staying in a long term relationship Then he meets Consuela, one of his students beautiful beyond measure Inexplicably he starts a bond with her he couldn't fathom so it possible he might fall in love Yet he has to think about the pros and cons; is there a future or is she too young for him? Consuela has to remind him of the things she wants to do to move forward not just him, she wants to know who she is for him Old age sneaks up on you, how can a man not grow up?, is it possible to find anyone without sex?, there's a difference between growing up and growing old The movie is brutally honest about the subject matter, explicit with its dialogue, and has terrific performances Yet it's too long and Cruz disappears after the first half which is very bizarre It's a very quiet somber viewing yet Kingsley and Cruz are sympathetic enough See more 07/05/2022 Ben Kingsley plays a well respected professor who begins a relationship with a younger woman played by the alluring Penelope Cruz and suddenly feels very jealous and possessive of his newfound love. Really well acted film with a fantastic cast which also features Patricia Clarkson and Dennis Hopper. Very well told story. See more 01/17/2021 Wonderfully self-aware film that know what it is and overachieves in each of its aspects; wonderful casting See more 08/10/2020 Such an eloquent and sensitive film about the relationship between older men and younger women. This film gives so much space to character development. Every time you think thhe screenplay is becoming predictable it gives you more. Ben Kingsley offers an amazing performance. Cruz and Hooper are fantastic. If your heart is open prepare to have it cut. See more vander a 08/08/2020 Sometimes it's just hard to see how a movie with so much otherwise excellent talent, that has been showcased numerous instances in other movies, can be so bad in this movie, which forces you to believe you can only attribute it to a bad director. One sticks with watching this movie because you keep expecting it to get better. Don't do it, because it doesn't. See more Read all reviews
Elegy

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Movie Info

Synopsis David Kepesh (Ben Kingsley), a renowned professor, has no interest in monogamy. Instead, he prefers to dabble in lustful flings with women. When he meets Consuela Castillo (Penélope Cruz), a student in her 20s, he is intensely attracted to her. Though his trusted friend George (Dennis Hopper) warns him not to become overly attached to the much younger Consuela, David begins to feel that his relationship with the student may become serious. However, his personal reservations may doom the affair.
Director
Isabel Coixet
Producer
Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg, Andre Lamal
Screenwriter
Nicholas Meyer
Distributor
Samuel Goldwyn Company
Production Co
Lakeshore Entertainment
Rating
R (Nudity|Language|Sexuality)
Genre
Drama, Romance
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 8, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 9, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$3.6M
Runtime
1h 51m
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