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 s... Read allCultural 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.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.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 5 nominations
- Amy O'Hearn
- (as Deborah Harry)
- 3rd Student
- (as Shaker Paleja)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDavid (Sir Ben Kingsley) tells Consuela that she looks like Goya's Maja Desnuda. Penélope Cruz (Consuela) plays Pepita Tudó in Volaverunt (1999), possibly a model for the Maja Desnuda.
- GoofsAt one point Ben Kingsley says to Penelope Cruz, "The beast with two backs. Where's that from?" She answers Shakespeare and he agrees that it's from Othello. The fact is that Shakespeare borrowed it from the original author, Francois Rabelais. The phrase appears in French as "la bête à deux dos" in Gargantua and Pantagruel, 1532.
- Quotes
David Kepesh: When you make love to a woman you get revenge for all the things that defeated you in life.
Ben Kingsley sometimes annoys the hell out of me. He is one of the best actors in the world, but sometimes plys his trade in the likes of films like "Thunderbirds", "A Sound Of Thunder" and "The Love Guru". Such a waste. Such a shame. Thank God he occasionally realises how good he is and signs up for a movie as sublime as "Elegy".
"Elegy" is a great movie. Ben Kingsley is supreme in it. He plays David Kapesh, an expat British teacher and writer. Kapesh is selfish. He is a player and a commitment phobe, who takes and drops lovers at the drop of a hat. That is until he meets Penelope Cruz's Consuela Castillo, with whom he begins a pretty standard affair and, against all expectations, and much to his dismay, falls in love with her.
"Elegy" has some seriously good, sure footed performances. Ben Kingsley is on Oscar worthy form. It is as different, but as good a performance, as his Oscar nominated turns in "Sexy Beast" and "House Of Sand And Fog". Patrica Clarkson, as Kapesh's long standing mistress, defines hurt and betrayal, Penelope Cruz completely puts word to the lie of one daft critic who said that she simply cannot act in the English language, but the surprise here is Dennis Hopper: His performance as Kapesh's best friend is light years away from the eye rolling villain that he normally portrays to make a crust.
"Elegy" is erotic, touching and beautiful. I think that it is a cracking movie and deserves a bigger audience.
- seawalker
- Aug 17, 2008
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $13,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,581,642
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $104,168
- Aug 10, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $14,894,347
- Runtime1 hour 52 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1