Possession
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Movie Reviews of Possession
Movie Review: A sum less than its greatest part
Summary: 4 Stars
I recently saw Jennifer Ehle's splendid performance as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1996 A&E production of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, and therefore anticipated another such appearance in POSSESSION, wherein Ehle plays Cristabel LaMotte in that half of the plot that takes place in England in the latter half of the 19th century. I wasn't disappointed.It's 1859 and Cristabel and the poet Randolph Ash (Jeremy Northam) become mutually attracted, even though the former is currently involved in a relationship with a same-sex lover and Randolph himself is married. After an initial period of emotional fencing involving lots of note passing, the two take off to Yorkshire together for a private tryst, after which things get enormously complicated as such things are wont to do. To my personal satisfaction, Ehle's Cristabel could be seen as an older and wiser (?) version of her earlier Elizabeth persona, perhaps as might have evolved if Jane Austen's P&P had been extended in time to the point where a disillusioned Elizabeth dumps Darcy. In any case, this part of POSSESSION is a deliciously played and sumptuous period romance that, by itself, rates five stars. I think I'm in love with Ehle myself.
Unfortunately, POSSESSION has a gimmicky subplot (or is it the main plot?) grafted on. In this one, it's present day London and Roland Michell (Aaron Eckhart), an unkempt American scholar specializing in Victorian poetry, is doing a research fellowship at the British Museum. One day, he stumbles across a previously unknown letter to an unnamed addressee, penned by the now-famous Randolph Nash, which indicates that the poet was in love with the recipient, a woman not his wife. This is totally inconsistent with the commonly held belief that Ash was completely devoted to his spouse, and had directed all his love poems to her. After some initial sleuthing, Roland focuses on Cristabel as the "other woman", and enlists the help of Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow), another specialist in Victorian poetry, to investigate and potentially prove the LaMotte/Nash liaison, thus setting the literary world on its ear. As Maud and Roland retrace the trail of the 1859 lovers through Yorkshire, even going so far as to stay in the same hotel room by the sea, they expend great emotional energy avoiding their own emotional and physical intimacy, both being scarred from previous relationships. This half of the film rates three stars purely for being so unnecessary to an otherwise excellent story.
Please don't get me wrong. Gwyneth Paltrow is her usual beguiling self, and she plays her role most adroitly. So does Aaron Eckhart for that matter, though I personally found him and his scruffiness totally obnoxious. Throughout his entire time on screen, presumably over a plot timeline of several days, Michell's 3-day growth of beard is apparently in suspended animation. Didn't studio Make-Up realize that over such time a beard will either grow or get shaved off? And couldn't Roland have run a wet comb through his hair once a day whether it needed it or not? Moreover, the Maud/Roland interaction is made increasingly ridiculous by an additional subplot involving academic skullduggery by an oily academic from - you'll never guess - New Mexico. And then there's that corny bit at the end where Maud finds out who she really is. Oh, puhleeze!
By all means, see this film for the richness embodied in the 19th century story, and try to tolerate the other. (Let's see. Five little piggies plus three little piggies divided by two equals, um, four.)
Movie Review: The past will connect them. The passion will possess them.
Summary: 4 Stars
"Possession" is one of those movies where as soon as it is over you want to go out and read the novel upon which it is based the better to be able to enjoy the full tapestry of the story. Reading A. S. Byatt's 1990 Booker Prize-winning novel would also allow you to better appreciate the adaptation by David Henry Hwang, Laura Jones and director Neil LaBute, which offers some interesting and creative approaches, both in terms of the story and how it is portrayed cinematically.The story is essentially a romantic mystery. American Roland Michell (Aaron Eckhart) is working as an assistant to a literature professor in London doing research on Randolph Henry Ash (Jeremy Northam), a poet Laureate during the reign of Queen Victoria. Roland discovers some letters from Ash that suggest the poet, a paragon of devotion with regards to his wife, had a romantic relationship with Christabel LaMotte (Jennifer Ehle), a minor poet and apparent lesbian, at least according to the historical record that exists. Roland enlists Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow), a English scholar who studies LaMotte, and the two begin their journey as literary detectives.
Of course a romantic relationship will develop between Roland and Maud as they are caught up in revealing the past of Randolph and Christabel. However, I have to admit that I was much more interested in the detective work unlocking the secrets of the lovers from the past than the slowly developing romance between the two scholars. Actually, I was much more interested in the romance of the two lovers in the past rather than in the present. This is not only because my academic interests are extremely sympathetic with unraveling the meaning of ancient texts, but also because the two poets have more hurdles to overcome in the romance department. After all, Eckhart and Paltrow are so good looking that their physical union is no more in doubt than their intellectual coming together. This film might actually have benefited from having less better looking leds in terms of this particular story.
LaBute gets points for the rather seamless way that he shifts back and forth between the past and the present as letters and locations allow us to slip back and forth between the two. I also have a real affection for films that still do the old trick of having stage hands move things around so that a total transformation is achieved on a set within a single panning shot back and forth. But what makes "Possession" so memorable is the powerful final scene and the haunting final shot, which is where this 2002 film achives its own sense of the poetic.
I am hard pressed to explain why I am only giving this film four stars given how much I like it; my best guess is because the film is only 102 minutes long and because this is a literary adaptation I cannot help but think this is the abridged version. There are a few deleted scenes available on the DVD, but they do not indicate anything substantial missing from the film. I also wanted to lose myself more in the story of Randolph and Christabel, and the Victorian world in which they lived. I really liked this film, but what I really wanted was to love it.
Movie Review: Surprisingly good
Summary: 4 Stars
One of the marks (and pleasures) of a talented filmmaker is in the works that tend to break away from their established genre and stretch their skills in a direction previously unexplored. One could list several such examples, the most obvious being Steven Spielberg growing up with the release of Schindler's List. Although nowhere near that scale, Neil LaBute's Possession fits neatly into that category. Perhaps best known for the disturbing (some would say misogynistic) In The Company of Men and the dark reality (some would say sociopathic) Your Friends & Neighbors, Possession provides LaBute with some variations. For one thing, it's the first film he's made not based on his own original work, the source material instead coming from the popular novel by A.S. Byatt. Also, there are elements of period drama involved, most decidedly a departure from the modern focus of his previous films.
Disclaimer: I read the book only after I saw the film so I'm not going to base this review on any aspect of it except to say I highly recommend it as well.
Possession is the story of two modern literary scholars, played by Gwyneth Paltrow and LaBute regular Aaron Eckhart, who together try to uncover the hidden relationship between a 19th-century poet laureate, played by Jeremy Northam, and a lesser poet played by Jennifer Ehle. As they uncover more and more clues, their own relationship begins to take on the characteristics of the one they are studying. It sounds much simpler than it actually is, as the plot also involves something akin to a heated scholarly competition to discover the truth, but that is very much secondary to the two relationships. The film shifts back and forth between time periods, and some of the overall highlights involve the clever means by which these transitions are carried out.
The look of the film is magnificent, with the contrast between the Victorian era and modern times very clearly demarcated -- the Victorians live in a lush, richly colorful world while the present-day scholars work in an almost antiseptic academic setting. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why Northam's and Ehle's characters come across as so much more believable than Paltrow's and Eckhart's. All the performances are decent, at least to the point where they don't distract from the film, but Paltrow's character is established as too much of a cold fish to allow the audience to believe that she could actually give herself so completely to Eckhart, no matter how likeable and studly he is. On the other hand, Northam and Ehle generate an onscreen passion that appears not only genuine, but deeply moving when circumstances remove their affair from their own control. This is another feather in LaBute's cap -- a true love story from a man whose debut film chronicled cruel toying with a stranger's emotions.
Though somewhat underrated, Possession has many of the attributes of a film that will stand the test of time. Not only does it have romance between very attractive personas, but it also has enough of a plot and clever cinematic tricks to hold interest for the entire length of the film.
Movie Review: Another Title that Makes Little Sense
Summary: 4 Stars
Yes, I think that when I have to think TOO MUCH about what the title means, it was poorly chosen. For instance, Possession = that the researchers played by Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart are all too keen on possessing the key to the mystery of the Victorian Lovers? Or does it refer to the other researchers who will resort to opening a grave to find what they seek? Does it refer to Jennifer Ehle's lesbian lover who tries to hold onto their relationship in the face of Ehle's new love affair with Jeremy Northam? Or something else entirely? Nope, dunno which, if any. Now, my friend Norma had already been cool on this film, not thinking much of it, so I was forewarned that I might not like it. Contrary to some other reviewers, I wasn't put out by Gwyn's performance or her sham British accent; she'd done it before in "Sliding Doors" and "Emma", after all. She was SUPPOSED to be a cold woman who has to warm up, so her being standoffish was fine. I liked this Aaron guy too, whom I'd never seen before. If he plays his cards right, he'll have a career much like Harrison Ford's ahead of him, romantically-speaking. I even thought Jeremy as the Victorian loverman was good, which is more than I usually do as concerns him. Miss Ehle was the sticking point this time round. I'm vastly fond of her, based on her excellent work in "Pride and Prejudice" some years back. I thought she thew away some talent by appearing in the very abyssmal and cheap-looking "Sunshine" a year or so ago. This time, it's a much better picture, rather like "French Lieutenant's Woman". But by golly, what's happened to her looks? She looked TERRIBLE! Oh, dear! Is that her real hair color? Pre Raphaelite red? She looked like Botticelli's Venus on steroids, brassy and bloated especially in that scene when her lover is painting her portrait. I just couldn't get past it! of course, her acting is always superb, no matter where she turns. up.
The other problem I had concerned how some props were treated. Here these two are supposed to be researchers, right? Well, just take a look at how they keep handling supposedly precious documents! They think nothing of handling sheer letters without gloves, stashing them in cruddy notebooks, reading them next to open flames, you name it! Why is it despicable that the OTHER researchers will bust open Jeremy's grave, but it's okay for Gwyn and Aaron to look thru the contents, that's cricket? As a docent in a Victorian historic house, this just really got my goat, how disregardful they are of these priceless things. Inconsistent, that's all.
Still and all, "Possession" is a pretty good parallel love story, and you are well within the possibility of liking it. My own quibbles are idiosyncratic (the research stuff) and dislocated (couldn't get over JE's changed appearance). If you're not ME, well, then, you might even give it five stars.
Movie Review: Romantic illusions
Summary: 4 Stars
The past and the present collide in the film of director Neil LaBute, Possession. The movie offers a delicate and beautiful look to the notion of romance withtwo couples, separated by 200 years of distance.
Roland Michel (Aaron Eckhart) is a U.S teacher doing some studies in London. While visiting the British Museum to investigate some documents of the renowned Victorian poet Randolph Henry Ash (Jeremy Northram), Roland finds an old love letter -written by the author-, to a mysterious woman.
The addressee of the letter clearly is not his wife, what suggests the poet always was not always the faithful and devout husband that everyone thought he was. More investigations take Roland to conclude that Ash had a romance with the also famous poetess Christabel LaMotte and because of this relationship, Roland seeks advice of expert Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow) to prove his theory.
At first, Maud rejects the ideas of Roland, since they would discredit her own investigative work about LaMotte, but in spite of this, she agrees to go with him around England looking for the necessary evidence. Immersed in their work, the two academics find themselves attracted to each other while they discover the truth about the romance between Ash and LaMotte.
Based from the novel of A.S. Byatt and adapted by Neil LaBute and David Hwang, Possession relates two parallel love histories. The film comes and goes elegantly between two periods of time contrasting the relations of the protagonists and the unbearable obstacles imposed in their worlds: in the past, the morality; in the present, the fear to commitment.
LaBute handles with great style and smoothness the time transitions between the two stories. The poets' relation is presented under a very romantic and idealistic light, with a certain distance, a lot of verbal flirt, charm and intensity. The fact that both artists are betraying their couples, their true loves, reinforces the very existence of their romance.
In direct contrast, the romance of the Paltrow-Eckhart couple is brazenly contemporary, with both lovers always been defensive, living with fear to commit and hurt by prior relations.
Clearly, the movie is not a serious study of poetry, but more a cerebral romance. LaBute is a director that obviously loves the spoken word and likes to lookup into the human weaknesses, secret and denied romances, and those ones that need to be fought. He likes to look into the love that brings with itself sacrifice and pain. In the romantic illusions that are boosted with the minds of their protagonists.