LaBute is, on the surface, a strange choice for director of this film. I've enjoyed his previous work, but I scratched my head when I heard he was involved with this adaptation of Byatt's novel. Strangely, it does work pretty well - his usually sharp claws are sheathed. All in all, Possession is a decent film; the cuts from the novel were understandable even if it was a little disappointing not to hear more of Byatt's clever Rossetti/Dickenson/Tennyson spoofs.. I don't think anyone wanted to hear the entirety of 'Ask to Embla' in the film.
The movie gets a little flabby in the middle (and there's one soft-core sex scene that looks a bit too much "Sinemax at night" costume-drama) and the music is intrusive, but there's a great cast, the cinematography was great, and the script well adapted.
Loved the fact that the only 'action' scenes in the movie involve a bloody nose. This is chopsockey action for the librarian crowd. Hooray!
Two other, minor complaints - Jennifer Ehle as Christabel smiles too much. It was perhaps supposed to be an enigmatic Cheshire Cat effect, but I found it distracting - and there was no chemistry whatsoever between the otherwise very good Paltrow and Eckhart, even taking into account that their modern romance was supposed to appear nervous and self-conscious compared to the sweeping rapture of their literary predecessors. All in all a good effort, and the ending was very touching.
I was a little nervous about seeing the film, given how much I enjoyed the book, but I wasn't disappointed.
The movie gets a little flabby in the middle (and there's one soft-core sex scene that looks a bit too much "Sinemax at night" costume-drama) and the music is intrusive, but there's a great cast, the cinematography was great, and the script well adapted.
Loved the fact that the only 'action' scenes in the movie involve a bloody nose. This is chopsockey action for the librarian crowd. Hooray!
Two other, minor complaints - Jennifer Ehle as Christabel smiles too much. It was perhaps supposed to be an enigmatic Cheshire Cat effect, but I found it distracting - and there was no chemistry whatsoever between the otherwise very good Paltrow and Eckhart, even taking into account that their modern romance was supposed to appear nervous and self-conscious compared to the sweeping rapture of their literary predecessors. All in all a good effort, and the ending was very touching.
I was a little nervous about seeing the film, given how much I enjoyed the book, but I wasn't disappointed.
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