Film buffs can continue to enjoy Friday nights at the Port Fairy cinema this week with 'Elegy', a Phillip Roth adaptation starring Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz.
David Kepesh (Kingsley) is a middle-aged academic whose charisma and inability to commit to women are chief among his traits. When he falls passionately in love with a Cuban student Consuela Castillo (Cruz) he becomes lost in a new emotional landscape. "My whole life was dedicated to independence", he muses.
David's friend George (Dennis Hopper) and longtime liaison Carolyn (Patricia Clarkson) are both anchors to his past and supports in his present. "You've got to stop worrying about growing old," says George. "Worry about growing up."
As David becomes increasingly obsessive and confused in his love for the equally independent Consuela, the path to true happiness seems rockier than ever.
Director Isabel Coixet (My Life Without Me) focuses on the emotional arc of David's character and makes use of the strong ensemble cast, which also includes Deborah Harry and Peter Sarsgaard.
With a rating of 74% positive at Rotten Tomatoes, Elegy was generally well received critically.
"Director Isabel Coixet has adeptly woven this intelligent tale of ageing, beauty, love and loss," wrote Jenni Dawes of Filmink.
"Intelligently translates Roth's meditation on lust and mortality without soft-pedaling its narrator's brutally honest, unabashedly sexist views," said Leslie Felperin of Variety.
Elegy screens this Friday 20th November at 7.30pm at Reardon Theatre in Bank Street. Memberships available at the door with free tea and coffee provided.
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