POSSESSION (2002) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart, Jeremy Northam, Jennifer Ehle, Lena Headey, Holly Aird, Toby Stephens, Trevor Eve and Tom Hickey. Director of photography Jean Yves Escoffier. Music by Gabriel Yared. Screenplay by David Henry Hwang and Laura Jones and Neil LaBute. Based on the novel by A.S. Byatt. Directed by Neil LaBute. Rated PG-13. Running time: 102 minutes.
Possession is a gentle literary mystery fueled by strong performances by a quartet of actors.
The story begins with brash American scholar Roland Mitchell (Aaron Eckhart) who, on a fellowship in London to study Victorian poet Randolph Henry Ash, accidentally stumbles upon some heretofore unknown letters by the poet.
Mitchell, theorizing the letters were intended were another poet, Christabel LaMotte, seeks out Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow), a by-the-book English academic and LaMotte expert.
The two combine forces and discover a cache of love letters exchanged between Ash and LaMotte, a finding that - with further proof - would be a monumental achievement in literary academia.
Roland and Maud begin tracing the lives of the poets, traveling across England and to France. As they learn more about the once-secret relationship between Ash and LaMotte, their own emotional connection begins to blossom.
OK, so this isn't XXX. Nary a gunshot nor explosion is heard throughout Possession, yet the story, based on a novel by A.S. Byatt, entices you. The more Roland and Maud learn about Ash and LaMotte, the more you want to know about them.
Possession flashes back to show us the love story of Ash and LaMotte, beautifully played by Jeremy Northam and Jennifer Ehle. Their actions accentuate and expand upon the findings by Maud and Roland.
This odyssey comes full circle when the modern couple finally unearth the last piece of the puzzle, and Maud uncovers an astounding detail about her heritage.
Possession is a lush, slowly-paced story that leisurely unveils its secrets about Ash and LaMotte, and also takes its time developing the relationship between the practical Maud and the impulsive Roland.
Possession is an outing for people who luxuriate in words. The flashbacks to Ash and LaMotte, as voice-overs quote from their letters, will captivate and impress.
The four leads are masterful, but it is Northam and Ehle who hold your hearts. Northam has the intense look of the poet, his eyes burning, his soul in torment.
Ehle is a treasure. You are drawn to her eyes, which show love, humor and defiance as well as pain and sadness. When she is on screen, she commands your attention.
Paltrow again demonstrates why she is more English than most British actors, displaying her impeccable accent. Her Maud is brusque, straight and determined, yet underneath she shows glimpses of a woman ready for companionship.
Eckhart is boyish and charming as the dervish-like Yank, whose spontaneity masks a scholar's mind.
The screenplay by David Henry Hwang and Laura Jones and Neil LaBute holds your attention, while LaBute's direction keeps you moving seamlessly from one story to the other.
Yes, that Neil LaBute, the cynic responsible for In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbors, as well as the splendid Nurse Betty. With the collaboration of director of photography Jean Yves Escoffier, he has ably melded two worlds into one.
The melancholy-tinged score by Gabriel Yared helps set the mood for both periods - the polite and repressed mid-19th century Victorian England as well as its modern, faster-paced, more open descendant.
You will find Possession a most cozy experience, like a good book with which you can curl up in front of the fireplace.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloomjc@yahoo.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette. Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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