MOVIE - POSSESSION - Review Rating $$$$$1/2 (OUT OF 10)
STARRING - GWYNETH PALTROW, AARON ECKHART, JEREMY NORTHAM & JENNIFER EHLE
Two scholars research a previously unknown affair, between Queen Victoria's poet laureate (fictional) and another lesser known poet, and discover love along the way.
This movie is based on A.S. Byatt's Booker Prize winning novel Possession: A Romance.
The premise, of Possession, is so weak that unless you are blinded by love you will not be able to overlook it. The life and writings of the fictional Randolph Ash have been scrutinized ad naseum. Handwritten originals of his poems are auctioned off for hundreds of thousands of dollars. And yet, our hero, discovers Ash's love letters to his unknown mistress inside a book he owned that is now in the British Museum. If you believe that, then I have swamp land in Florida, I'd be interested in selling you.
You know you are watching a movie with a highly contrived plot when the scholars, who work together to uncover the mysterious affair, happen to be the two best looking academics you've ever seen. This problem is further compounded by the fact that Paltrow plays a hardcore left wing feminist professor. I didn't buy that for one second.
The affair unfolds, in flashbacks, as our two intrepid scholars unravel the mystery. As Castaway, was an ode to Federal Express, Possession is a tribute to letter writing and the postal service. The affair is actually somewhat compelling. The budding romance, between our earnest while scholars, pales in comparison to the point of distraction.
In fact, the whole subplot of scholarly intrigue fails to inspire. The grave robber scene is also quite unbelievable. The movie would have been better if the affair had been told from the perspective of an interested third party as opposed to lovelorn 20th century scholars.
Last week I took the unusual step of urging you to see the flawed film Simone. In the case of Possession, I'd advise going to see it only if you are a hopeless romantic, and I emphasis the word hopeless.
Alternative Reviews:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/wkp-news-possession16f.html
http://www.rollingstone.com/mv_reviews/review.asp?mid=2044555
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Possession-1114793/reviews.php
Official Website:
http://www.possession-movie.com/
MY TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2002 LIST
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2003
David Schwartz.
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