Elegy: Dying Animal (2008) ( Elegy )

Elegy: Dying Animal (2008) (Blu-Ray) (*)

$20.99

Original Title: Elegy
Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
English ( DTS 5.1 )
English ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( Blu-Ray/Region B )

Running Time:
107 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
Alternative Footage
Commentary
Interactive Menu
Music Video
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 2008 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Isabel Coixet

Written By:
Nicholas Meyer
Philip Roth

Actors:
Penelope Cruz ..... Consuela Castillo
Ben Kingsley ..... David Kepesh
Dennis Hopper ..... George O'Hearn
Patricia Clarkson ..... Carolyn
Peter Sarsgaard ..... Kenny Kepesh
Deborah Harry ..... Amy O'Hearn
Charlie Rose ..... Charlie Rose
Antonio Cupo ..... Younger Man
Michelle Harrison ..... 2nd Student
Sonja Bennett ..... Beth
Emily Holmes ..... 1st Student
Chelah Horsdal ..... Susan Reese
Marci T. House ..... Administration Nurse
Alessandro Juliani ..... Actor #3 in Play
Tiffany Lyndall-Knight ..... Actor #2 in Play

Synopsis:

In Manhattan, the middle-aged writer, art critic, professor and aspirant piano player and photographer David Kepesh questions that his age does not affect his sex drive. Despite his cultural knowledge, the intellectual David is a man that has grown old but never grown up, and he is unable to last a relationship, including one with his oncologist son, Kenneth Kepesh. The exceptions are his old poet friend and confident, George O'Hearn, and the independent businesswoman Carolyn, with whom he has an affair for more than twenty years. When he meets the elegant, educated and gorgeous Cuban student Consuela Castillo in his literature class, he feels a great sexual attraction towards her and seduces her in the end of the period. They have a love affair for one and half years, but David is always insecure, being at least thirty years older than the student. When Consuela forces David to come to her graduation party and meet her family and friends, he takes a decision that affects their relationship forever.

David Kepesh (Ben Kingsley) is a cultural critic and professor, in a state of 'emancipated manhood'. Previously married, he has a son who has never forgiven him for leaving his mother. His relationships with women are usually casual, brief and sexual in nature. His Pulitzer Prize-winning friend, George O'Hearn (Dennis Hopper), suggests that he 'bifurcate' his life: have conversations and enjoy art with a wife, and 'keep the sex just for sex'.Believing himself to be an independent and self-actualized individual, he encounters Consuela Castillo (Penélope Cruz), a beautiful and confident student who attends one of his lectures. She captures his attention like no other woman, and they begin a serious relationship. David is also in a casual 20-year relationship with Caroline (Patricia Clarkson), another former student.Over dinner, Consuela invites David to her graduation party. George advises him to leave her before she leaves him. Consuela waits for an answer, but David only promises, 'I'll have to check my schedule.' Consuela is frustrated. In the end, he agrees to attend. On the day of the event, David phones Consuela and claims he has blown a tire and is stuck in bad traffic and it will be unavoidably delayed. In reality, he is sitting in his car, anxious about meeting Consuela's family. Heartbroken and annoyed, Consuela hangs up. Over the course of the next two years, David's friend George, passes away, and David's son Kenny is embroiled in an affair.Two years pass before Consuela and David come in contact again. On New Year's Eve, David arrives home to find a message from Consuela. She mentions that she needs to tell him something before he finds out from someone else. At his apartment, Consuela announces that she has found a lump in her breast and will need surgery. Grief-stricken, David cries and asks her why she didn't tell him sooner. Consuela then asks David to take photos of her breasts, before the doctors 'ruin' them in the surgery. David agrees.In the final scene, David visits Consuela at the hospital where she is recovering from her surgery. Consuela says, 'I will miss you'. David responds, 'I am here' as he climbs into the hospital bed and gently kisses her face. In a fantasy scene, the film flashes back to David and Consuela on the beach where Consuela told David she loves him.

David Kepesh is growing old. He's a professor of literature, a student of American hedonism, and an amateur musician and photographer. When he finds a student attractive, Consuela, a 24-year-old Cuban, he sets out to seduce her. Along the way, he swims in deeper feelings, maybe he's drowning. She presses him to sort out what he wants from her, and a relationship develops. They talk of traveling. He confides in his friend, George, a poet long-married, who advises David to grow up and grow old. She invites him to meet her family. His own son, from a long-ended marriage, confronts him. Is the elegy for lost relationships, lost possibilities, beauty and time passing, or failure of nerve?

This product was added to our catalog on Monday 27 June, 2022.