Possession

Neil LaBute (2002)

97min

12A Certificate

Review

Our Score

by Alan Jones

This wispy, time-shifting romance represents a clumsy change of pace for edgy director Neil LaBute (In the Company of Men, Nurse Betty). His adaptation of AS Byatt's 1990 Booker Prize-winning novel evokes neither the poetry nor the passion of its source, while Gwyneth Paltrow and LaBute regular Aaron Eckhart phone in their drippy performances as literary sleuths researching the amorous secrets of bisexual Victorian poet Jennifer Ehle and her married lover Jeremy Northam. As the contemporary academics unearth the truth behind their dry studies - and LaBute bodice-rips away in arch 19th-century flashbacks - they find themselves falling under the spell of their subjects' romantic obsession. Low on mystery and emotional engagement, but high on Americans abroad clichés and chocolate-box settings, this is a frostily remote French Lieutenant's Woman wannabe.

Summary

Rival academics get embroiled in the hunt for proof that Victorian poets Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte were having an affair - but their rivalry is tempered by a seemingly irresistible attraction between them. Drama from playwright Neil LaBute, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart, Jeremy Northam, Jennifer Ehle, Lena Headey and Tom Hickey.

Cast & Crew

Maud Bailey Gwyneth Paltrow

Roland Michell Aaron Eckhart

Randolph Henry Ash Jeremy Northam

Christabel LaMotte Jennifer Ehle

Blanche Glover Lena Headey

Dr Fergus Wolfe Toby Stephens

Professor Blackadder Tom Hickey

Prof Mortimer Cropper Trevor Eve

Euan Tom Hollander

Sir George Bailey Graham Crowden

Lady Bailey Anna Massey

Ellen Ash Holly Aird

Paola Georgia MacKenzie

Director Neil LaBute

Other Information

Language: EnglishColourTheatrical distributor: Warner BrosGuidance: Sex scene. Available on: video and DVDReleased on: 25 Oct 2002

Drama

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Neil LaBute (2002)

Review

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