Elegy

Sexual drama

• Written by Nicholas Meyer, from a novel by Philip Roth
• Directed by Isabel Coixet

Beautiful young women attract older men. Some are even attracted to them. In a typical Hollywood entertainment, a 30-year gap between the romantic leads is just par for the course. But Elegy’s filmmakers use it to explore a proud and self-centered womanizer facing old age.

Despite a woman at the helm (director Isabel Coixet), Elegy is very much from a man’s point of view. Central character David Kepesh (Ben Kingsley) appears in almost every scene, and narrates the story, telling us his feelings and deepest fears. We know the complex emotions–lust, love, pride, and insecurity–motivating him. But the object of his desire, Consuela Castillo, remains semi-elusive. It’s not that Consuela is a simple plot device; as played by Penélope Cruz she’s as complex and human as David. But we see her through his eyes, which aren’t always clear.

“Beautiful women are invisible,” argues David’s friend George, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet played by Dennis Hopper. He means that we’re blinded by their beauty, and have trouble seeing what’s inside.

David notices a lot of beauty. He uses his position as a college professor and a minor celebrity to pick up young women. He also has a regular, long-term, but casual relationship with an ex-student (Patricia Clarkson).

Yet he’s not prepared for Consuela. He can’t get her out of his head. He’s terrified she’ll leave him for a younger man, and tries to protect himself by breaking off the relationship first. He can’t. When he’s supposed to tell her it’s over, he instead asks her to go to Venice with him.

Of course Kingsley gives a great performance; he’s as dependable as gravity. Cruz does even better as a woman very much in love, but sensing her partner’s limitations. I can’t say it’s her best performance yet, but it’s the best one I’ve seen. She also performs several nude scenes before a very loving camera.

Well, I said the movie is from a male point of view, despite the woman director. That probably came from the writers. Nicolas Meyers wrote the screenplay, based on Philip Roth’s novel, The Dying Animal (which I haven’t read). Meyers’ name on the credits intrigued me, as I’ve always associated him with high-concept stories (he wrote The Seven-Percent Solution, about Sherlock Holmes meeting Sigmund Freud) and science fiction (he either wrote or directed the best Star Trek movies). Perhaps, like the fictional David, he’s maturing into a sadder but wiser elder.