Sexy Beast

Maybe that’s the problem with Elegy (which is based on a Philip Roth novel). It invites you to judge the characters without giving you the opportunity of connecting with them.

The film unfolds from the perspective of a man who can be best described as an incredibly selfish rake who has a juvenile habit of intellectualising his sexual escapades. His love nest is a stark,dimly-lit apartment with crumpled sheets strewn all over. His son is a despaired,unsure young man who is in the process of destroying his life because he cannot come in terms with his father abandoning him. The object of his lust,Penelope,is wispy,brittle presence,who has no business falling for this man’s easy charms. Together,they alienate you to the point of hostility. Their love affair,is predictably troubled— he can’t bring himself to meet her family,she needs some sort of commitment.

And the world that these two inhabit is a suffocating,dank one of academics and college professors which in a way justifies their need to break barriers. Yet,as Ben Kingsley’s character reveals his inner feelings through unnecessarily verbose monologues,you realise that there are no convictions behind his decisions. He mourns all the wrong things making his self examination seem merely narcissistic and actually,quite pathetic.