The story of the graying professor and the much-younger student is an old one, but “Elegy” makes it fresh with a couple of twists.
For starters, this movie is based on a short novel (“The Dying Animal”) by Philip Roth, that longtime investigator of American maleness, but it’s directed by a woman, Isabel Coixet. The idea of a female perspective on Roth’s assertively masculine view of sex and love is already interesting.
The second element is Ben Kingsley. He’s not perhaps the first person you think of to play Roth’s aging writer, a divorced narcissist who long ago gave up commitment in favor of sexual freedom. But that’s what makes it work: Kingsley’s approach is different from what you expect in this role.
The story covers a few years in the life of David Kepesh (Kingsley), a well-known cultural critic who still teaches class — perhaps so he can have his pick of the beautiful young women who pass through every semester.
He wasn’t prepared for Consuela Castillo (Penelope Cruz), a disarmingly direct student and his latest lover. Much against his principles, he finds himself falling in love.
Kepesh has three sounding boards for his self-conscious (and self-destructive) decisions. His longtime mistress (excellent Patricia Clarkson) is worldly in her knowledge of his lifestyle — but he still lies to her when it comes to Consuela.
David’s grown son (Peter Sarsgaard) harbors deep resentments toward his father, who left the family years earlier. But occasionally they get together and try to hammer something out.
Most importantly, Kepesh talks to his colleague, a philandering poet played by Dennis Hopper (who shows how good he can be when he’s disciplined). If Kepesh could be as honest with women as he is with his male friend, he’d probably have fewer problems.
Spanish director Coixet, who made the haunting “My Life Without Me,” lets the story unfold in hushed, dark-lit scenes. She gets a lovely performance out of Cruz, who is much more expressive in English than she was at the beginning of her career.
The film doesn’t endorse or condemn Kepesh’s behavior, and neither does Kingsley. This actor’s technical skills make him a joy in certain roles (he’d be an awesome “Batman” villain), but they sometimes get in the way of letting us see inside characters. For Kepesh, Kingsley’s studied approach fits the man. This is a closed-in person who — briefly — spots a slice of daylight.
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