Elegy
By Marshall Fine
Rating:
Who's in it: Ben Kingsley, Penelope Cruz
What's it about: An aging college professor (Kingsley) becomes obsessed with a gorgeous graduate student (Cruz).
Sizzling: The December-May romance thing has a certain ick factor because the December part of the equation is Gandhi. Still, it's worth watching Kingsley strip if he's jumping into bed with voluptuous Spanish star Cruz. But this film version of Philip Roth's "The Dying Animal" has much more to offer: a genuinely moving love story about a guy who refuses to commit and the woman who makes him want to. It's surprisingly sexy from start to finish and Kingsley - who gives a brash, forceful performance - holds your attention in the central role. Cruz, so commanding and tough in "Volver," invites you in as this serious, sensuous student who teaches her professor lessons about what love could - and should - be about.
Long story short: At last - a date movie for bookworms!
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