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Elegy

Elegy

2008
Romance, Drama
1h 52m
Cultural critic David Kepesh finds his life -- which he indicates is a state of "emancipated manhood" -- thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who awakens a sense of sexual possessiveness in her teacher.
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Elegy

2008
Romance, Drama
1h 52m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 46.92% from 547 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(547)
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Rated 14 Nov 2010
85
75th
Starts off resembling a lifeless New Yorker story of a May/December romance, but progressively adds new dimensions & insights 2 become a subtle, thoughtful exploration of the struggle between lust/love & reason, &, more powerfully, the costs of the lives we don't choose. It's a clever sleight of hand as the always-stunning shots of Cruz initially seem 2 suggest Kingsley is mourning lost youth, but by the end the real grieving is over the life of relative "maturity" he's never had.
Rated 23 Nov 2008
75
51st
Excellent performances and some brilliant dialogue, occasional muddling of the themes and messages in the third act can be comfortably overlooked.
Rated 22 Mar 2009
64
69th
Themes of May-December romance and death (meaning the end of life and the end of love) gets interwined in this little film directed by Isabel Coixet. It benefits from being based on the book by quite a few intersting dialogues. Directing could have been just a bit better, because there are some rough edges in pacing, and same could be said about Ben Kingsley's character, but in the end this film is a rewarding experience.
Rated 17 Mar 2010
35
19th
It is a pity that the director of this film seems to grasp neither the characters of the novel, nor the milieu in which they dwelled, nor the intentions of the author. Almost every gesture of the performers, whether large or small, sounds a false note, and one utterly incongruent with Roth's fine book. The fault, however, does not lie with the actors, nor even with the script, but overwhelmingly with the director, who compounded error upon error. The result is both frustrating and tedious.
Rated 08 Feb 2012
53
20th
A great book ruined by an awful movie. The ending at the beach must have made Philip Roth throw up
Rated 22 Mar 2009
55
34th
It only appeals to men over 60 with bad-ass goatees who have never really fallen in love. Bonus points for nude Cruz.
Rated 23 Oct 2008
6
35th
Mixed feelings while watching it: Ben Kingsley and Penélope Cruz were perfectly cast, both giving what may be one of their best performances to date. But the execution of some scenes could've been handled better, I think the film is too much in love with itself and it doesn't give you any time to breath or to think things through. Although a bit sad, and leaning more towards adults, it's definitely not a bad film, just flawed.
Rated 31 May 2009
72
68th
I like all main actors and the director did her part good, but the story was kind of shorter than the movie. It might work better as a short movie. The voice-over did not work nice in here. It was interesting to see this flick immediately after Suden vuosi (The Year of the Wolf) by Olli Saarela: both movies are dealing with a relationship between older man and younger woman. BTW, it was nice to see Blondie acting again.
Rated 09 Apr 2009
85
79th
Fascinating study of love, lust, aging and death - no really. Kingsley plays an initially unlikeably aloof poet professor whose brash exterior and ordered existence is disrupted by the beautiful young Cruz. This relationship forms the core of the film but an impressive supporting cast flesh out Kingsley's other relationships. A thought provoking moving script is the icing on the cake.
Rated 29 Jan 2013
70
70th
The women in this movie are exceptional. Patricia Clarkson is amazing, and Penelope Cruz is desire incarnate and absolutely stunning. Ben Kingsley sometimes seemed miscast as the love interest. A middle aged man and his quest for love and happiness, falls desperately in love with a young woman, frustrated by it, and then mourns her loss. Deeply affected by her, he finds that he is just a shell of the man he used to be. Several pearls of wisdom. Slightly sad but good ending.
Rated 30 Sep 2017
70
44th
It's rather mediocre on all fronts. I'd be much more approving of a trashy film working in as many Penelope Cruz nude scenes, than this attempt at something adult and mature. The cliche soundtrack is grating enough. If you're going for average direction it may as well have Ben Kingsley saying lines like, "Gee honey, you look unwell. Come let the professor have a look at you, just open your blouse and say 'ahhh'."
Rated 27 Apr 2009
51
12th
I can't help but think I missed something with this movie but it felt incredibly boring, horribly paced and nothing happened. I didn't care about the characters at all and Ben Kingsley still acts like he doesn't give a damn.
Rated 08 Feb 2010
55
20th
As much as I like Kingsley, Cruz and Roth, this just doesn't work...
Rated 03 Oct 2010
87
80th
Excellent acting by Cruz and Kingsley make this May December romance believable
Rated 15 Apr 2009
64
8th
One of the main problems was trying to believe that a pretty young woman could be attracted to a wizened, leathery old troll with an ego to match his nose size. But even letting that go, the movie had a sluggish story and took some unexpected and unwarranted directions in the second half. Most of the time the atmosphere it created was just unpleasant, creepy and stifling. The characters were just too unsympathetic, all of them.
Rated 19 Apr 2009
83
51st
Somewhat short of being a great film. The actors and performances are all very good here, and the movie does a relatively good job of touching upon some timeless themes - aging and dying, romantic love in its many aspects (passion, companionship, betrayal). I'd say its worth watching, but don't expect to be completely captivated.
Rated 20 Jul 2010
25
7th
Stretching over 100 humorless minutes of banal scenery and condescending monologue, Elegy pulls out all of the old clichés (cancer, aging, unrequited love) to pander for artistic prestige. The story, padded with unnecessary dialogue and redundant characters, barely concerns itself with the plight of an aging author-professor-important guy as he feels sorry for himself for entering a doomed relationship with a improbably younger woman set to overused Satie piano tunes.
Rated 28 Aug 2009
88
73rd
Starting Out in the Evening (2007) has a similar theme, a stronger script, and, arguably, better performances. I like to see Penelope Cruz in the nude as much as the next guy, but I had trouble with the fact that the 38 year old actress was playing the role of an undergraduate. That aside, she delivers a strong, sympathetic performance. Kingsley's character is her foil. He is not a nice man, and the actor doesn't try to humanize his character. That kind of restraint is admirable.
Rated 09 May 2012
50
47th
Elegy is a flawed film that could have been very much worth your time. But it makes a crucial misstep with its ending, and it never manages to recover from this. It might have if more than one of its characters were developed, or if it hadn't essentially killed one of them off for the thirty minutes preceding a "shocking" revelation, but since that didn't happen, I stopped caring. Growing old might suck, but spending precious hours watching Elegy isn't worth it.
Rated 28 Dec 2008
75
72nd
All of the actors do great job and the story is pretty interesting but unfortunately directing isn't at the same level.
Rated 28 Nov 2010
30
78th
"The Spanish director gives an almost Wongian expression to the way people seduce one another." - Ed Gonzalez
Rated 08 May 2009
30
19th
DEPRESSING MOVIE.
Rated 19 Apr 2009
3
40th
"Fans of long-winded life drama with aspirations to resonance: enjoy."
Rated 23 Feb 2009
78
63rd
Cruz, Kingsley and Hopper deliver great performances to a good story. Although the pacing is a bit sluggish, Coixet's directing is more good than bad.
Rated 18 May 2009
50
35th
Rather boring.
Rated 08 Aug 2008
80
68th
Good human drama. Coixet is her own camera operator and music supervisor on this one, which gives this movie a nice handmade feel to it. Excellent performances, especially from Clarkson and Hopper
Rated 13 Apr 2009
49
50th
Okay Movie
Rated 09 Sep 2008
89
95th
don't know why this film isn't getting more of a buzz
Rated 28 Nov 2009
60
53rd
Even Penelope's perfectly booming blonde poodles staring at you in the face couldn't save this mediocre movie from being the lackluster it is.
Rated 27 Sep 2008
50
26th
Didn't hold my attention, probably too far from my age group.
Rated 19 May 2009
75
67th
Though Elegy looked somewhat boring to me when I saw its preview, I actually found the story pretty interesting. The major theme of the movie is 'growing old' and although I can't quite relate to that (yet), it is still something I've thought about. Of course, there isn't a lot of excitement or action in this movie. So, don't expect anything like that. However, Penélope Cruz has some pretty decent nude scenes, so even if you are bored with the plot, you'll have something to look forward to.
Rated 23 Sep 2010
5
28th
Penélope Cruz is naked in the film, but that's the best thing I can say for it.
Rated 29 May 2022
70
83rd
eng; [elegy; elegy - die Kunst zu lieben]; ein Frauenheld verliebt und verliert sich bei der Beziehung zu einer Studentin - doch durch den Altersunterschied zweifelt er selbst daran.; (gefühlvoll);

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