Elegy

Driven by Isabel Coixet's (My Life Without Me) visually assured and deeply observant direction, Elegy charts the passionate relationship between a celebrated New York college professor, David Kepesh (Kingsley) and a young Cuban-born woman, Consuela Castillo (Cruz) whose beauty both ravishes and destablises him. As their intimate connection transforms them - more than either could imagine - a charged sexual contest evolves into an indelible love story.
With humanistic warmth, wry wit and erotic intensity Elegy explores the power of beauty to blind, to reveal and transform. With extraordinary performances by Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz, the film is based on Pulitzer Prize-winner Philip Roth's short novel "The Dying Animal." On the one hand a shattering, heartfelt romantic drama, Elegy is also a complex, intelligent and unflinchingly honest meditation on lust, mortality, family, male friendship, intimacy and commitment. It's a refreshing film in its ability to deal with adult issues while remaining an invigorating cinematic experience.