POSSESSION (2002 - ROMANCE / MYSTERY / DRAMA) *** out of ***** or 6 out of 10
CAST: Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart, Jeremy Northam, Jennifer Ehle, Trevor Eve, Tom Hickey, Toby Stephens, Holly Aird, Lena Headey.
DIRECTOR: Neil LaBute
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and improbably gorgeous "academics" straight ahead...
IT'S LIKE THIS: Ahhh... The Sexy Scholar/Scientist. Is there a more boner-inducing and ridiculous cliche in cinematic history? In case you haven't been to the movies much, allow me to explain. The Sexy Scholar/Scientist is a movie character who can be male or female and: (1) has a Ph D or Medical Degree; (2) is an expert in some highly technical scientific field or arcane academic area; (3) usually gets pulled into some intrigue or seriously dangerous twists and turns; and most important of all: (4) could easily pose as a dripping-wet centerfold for Playboy or Playgirl. Partay!
Some great examples of The Sexy Scholar/Scientist in popular film include: (1) Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards), the nuclear-hot nuclear scientist from THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH who also had a rack that you could set furniture on; (2) Dr. Julia Kelly (Nicole Kidman), the nuclear scientist from THE PEACEMAKER who was kind of like Christmas, but with a much more work-appropriate wardrobe (three words: no hot pants); (3) Dr. Bruce Banner (Eric Bana), the genetics wiz from THE HULK who would turn into a hulking green giant (as opposed to, you know, the jolly one) when pissed-off; (4) Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz), the biochemist who found herself runnning for her life in the Philippines alongside a genetically-enhanced super-assassin in THE BOURNE LEGACY; (5) Dr. Erica Baron (Lesley-Anne Down), the brilliant and gorgeous Egyptologist from SPHINX who uncovered a lost Pharaoh's tomb and ended up targeted because of it; and (6) Dr. Will Rodman (James Franco), the seriously hunky neurobiologist from RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES who developed a wonder drug that enhances intelligence but causes a bunch of apes to go, well, ape-shit.
To this steamy list, we must add the leads of our next review, the romantic mystery POSSESSION, based on the dense bestseller by A.S. Byatt. They are: (1) Dr. Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow), snooty but sexy British professor who specializes in Victorian poetry; and (2) soon-to-be-Dr. Roland Mitchell (Aaron Eckhart), Yankee literature grad student who uncovers some seriously racy love letters that implicate two revered poets from centuries ago, who no one even thought knew each other - let alone trading bodily fluids with one another. Let's just say that these two look like they walked off a photo shoot for the Nerd Issue of GQ or Vogue magazine or something.
It all starts when Roland uncovers the letters stuck between the pages of an old book on the poems of the late (very late) Randolph Henry Ash (Jeremy Northam). Going into Hardy Boys mode, Roland soon posits that the letters were written to the late Christabel LaMotte (Jennifer Ehle), a bisexual poet who lived during Randolph's era. But why would Randolph, a famously faithful husband, be carrying on with a woman who had a female live-in lover, Blanche (Lena Headey). Was a little sumthin-sumthin going on back in the Victorian era? Hmmmmmm....
This is exactly what Roland would like to know. The trail leads him to the doorstep of Lincoln University in rural England, where he meets the aforementioned hottie Dr. Maud Bailey, who looks a lot like a very annoyed Gwyneth Paltrow. You see, it appears Maud is something of an expert on Christabel's works and life - and is even related to her by blood. As you can imagine, Roland telling Maud that her revered great-great-great aunt was probably porking around with a guy everyone thought was the Victorian equivalent of Mr. Rogers doesn't exactly go over well with our chilly ice princess from Lincoln U. Nevertheless, she agrees to accompany Roland on a cross-country (and cross-Channel into France) detective hunt for the missing pieces of the love (lust?) story from long, long, long ago.
So why did Randolph begin an affair with Christabel? What else will Roland and Maud uncover as they dig deeper and deeper into the past of these two poets? Will they make a connection of their own? And what happens when Maud's sketchy ex-boyfriend and Roland's academic rival Fergus (Toby Stephens) gets wind of their discovery? Will Fergus enlist the aid of unscrupulous American professor Mortimer Cropper (Trevor Eve) and try to steal the scandalous love letters? How did the Randolph-Christabel romance end? And how will the Roland-Maud affair turn out?
Well, considering they're all nerds (albeit extremely hot ones), I'm thinking they will just talk each other to death...
BUT, SERIOUSLY: In past reviews, we've talked about how adapting novels into films is a very tricky proposition. What may work in literary form may not work cinematically, and whoever is tasked with transferring a story from book page to silver screen needs to know the inherent limitations of each medium. Many terrific books have turned into less-than-stellar movies because either the source story was an inherently literary one that didn't translate well into cinema without necessary adjustments that weren't made - or the wrong elements (wrong director, star, music) hindered the film. POSSESSION is a vivid example of the latter.
The book by A.S. Byatt that this film is based on is one of my favorites. It was most definitely a literary novel that was rich with detail and thick with understated emotion and atmosphere. When I heard at the turn of the millenium that it was being turned into a film, I was quite excited. My excitement waned, however, when I heard that American director Neil LaBute, known for sharp, unsentimental examinations of American masculinity like IN THE COMPANY OF MEN and YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, had been tapped to direct. LaBute's previous work were some of the most unromantic and cynical I have ever seen. While most of them are quite good, he was just not the director I would have tapped to bringing A.S. Byatt's novel - a moving story about a burning passion that transcends time and distance - to colorful movie life.
Another misgiving I had about the project were the leads. Aaron Eckhart, a frequent LaBute collaborator, was tapped to play Roland Mitchell. I wasn't sure if the rugged, thoroughly American Eckhart could play a British scholar convincingly, but as it turned out, LaBute (who adapted the novel) had turned Roland's character into an American, ostensibly to tailor it to Eckhart. Also, Gwyneth Paltrow (another American) was chosen to play Maud Bailey, who was to thankfully remain British in the film. Now, for the record, I love Paltrow but we'd already seen her play the "Patrician British Beauty" in films like SLIDING DOORS, EMMA, and SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, and to see her play yet another variation on the role in POSSESSION seemed like old hat.
Sure, enough, the movie is imbalanced because of these ill-fitting elements. Technically, Eckhart and Paltrow are competent in their roles. However, in Eckhart's hands, Roland doesn't come across as a convincing scholar, whether American or British. It is crucial for us to buy into the character's drive and passion to find out more about his literary idol's secret affar, but the fire just isn't there. Mainly because Eckhart seems more like someone pretending to be a scholar just to get Maud in the sack.
Speaking of Maud, Paltrow hits all the right notes of initially-chilly distance and gradually-melting reserve. But, like I said, we've been on this journey with her several times before, folks, and by now it feels a little mannered and routine. I would have vastly preferred to have seen a true British Rose like Kate Winslet or Saffron Burrows play Maud. That would have been a fresher, more unexpected experience.
Eckhart and Paltrow's miscasting might have still worked if they had any kind of chemistry at all. As written in the novel, Maud and Roland were initially attracted to each other's minds and their shared passion for uncovering the hidden link between Randolph and Christabel. Their intellectual connection soon became an emotional one, and we ended up with two strong romances: one in the past, and another in the present. In the film, however, there is almost no heat between Maud and Roland, at all. They seem to be going through the motions of not only the scholarly detective work, but also their "slowly-budding romance." It's just not there between Paltrow and Eckhart, folks, and the movie suffers because of it.
Fortunately, LaBute does get one important thing right: the romance between Randolph and Christabel that exists in the distant past. Indeed, POSSESSION comes to life everytime we flash back into the Victorian era. Using flashbacks, LaBute does a nice job of weaving and linking the "secret romance" from long ago with the events unfolding in modern-day England and France. However, the main reason the plot thread between Randolph and Christabel works is the reverse of why the one with Maud and Roland stumbles: the actors involved have real chemistry. Jeremy Northam and Jennifer Ehle, both Brits, bring fire and passion to their roles. There is a dual sense of wistfulness and playfulness to their interactions, as Randolph and Christabel recognize they probably can never truly be together, but must make the most of their stolen moments.
Were it not for this vibrant and quietly powerful thread, POSSESSION would rate on the average mark and no more. Some sleek production values and an evocative musical score also help. However, the wrong director and miscast leads prevent this film from being the classic adaptation it could have easily been. Had someone like Ridley Scott or the late Anthony Minghella (THE ENGLISH PATIENT) had been given the reigns, and a couple like Kate Winslet or Joseph Fiennes been given the roles of Maud and Roland, this movie would have been just as good as the book. As it is, it's merely a cut or two above average.
