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Possession [2002]
from Warner Home Video
starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart, Jeremy Northam, Jennifer Ehle, Lena Headey
directed by Neil LaBute

Features:

• Anamorphic
• PAL
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

With its complex twists and turns, AS Byatt's doorstopper of a novel Possession is hardly the kind of tale that translates easily to film, even though its switches in time across more than a century are intrinsically filmic. In this adaptation the basic story revolves around two modern-day academics, Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow, a class act, all ice and severe hair) and the young American Roland Michell (the charmingly diffident Aaron Eckhart). They find themselves thrown together as they track a secret love affair between two fictional Victorian poets, Randolph Henry Ash and Christable LaMotte (Jeremy Northam and Jennifer Ehle, both of them eminently convincing costume-drama veterans). As our two modern-day sleuths uncover the truth they (surprise, surprise) find themselves falling for one another.

Director Neil LaBute may have strayed from familiar territory (Nurse Betty) but he's managed to translate book to screen with compelling directness, and much credit should go not only to the four leads, but also to Lena Headey, who plays the tragic Blanche Glover, LaMotte's rejected lover. Overall it's a very lyrical movie, visually a treat for the eye, with the period detail beautifully caught and much beautiful scenery to be had. And the score itself, by Gabriel Yared, seems to encapsulate England in its pastoral beauty. Yes, of course the intricacies of the novel are much simplified, with some characters written out altogether, but its central spirit is retained and it makes for an ultimately compelling experience.

On the DVD: Possession has a pleasingly sharp and well-defined picture quality that makes the most of the fabulous visuals. However, extras are limited. As well as a list of cast and crew and the usual scene selections and theatrical trailer there's the option of watching the film accompanied by LaBute's commentary, which is enlightening first time around but probably not for repeated viewing. --Harriet Smith

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• What possessed them?
  What is it about films like this? They're based on good source material and attract a good cast but when it finally makes it to the screen it seems as if the furniture is putting in a better performance.
  With Possession you're left thinking that this was just another opportunity for Gwyneth to showcase her English accent and nothing more and even she's acting a bit like death warmed over.
  There's the usual parade of familiar Brit thesps (Tom Hollander, Toby Stephens, Trevor Eve) all acting up a... more info

• A sum less than its greatest part
  I recently saw Jennifer Ehle's splendid performance as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1996 A&E production of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, and therefore anticipated another such appearance in POSSESSION, wherein Ehle plays Cristabel LaMotte in that half of the plot that takes place in England in the latter half of the 19th century. I wasn't disappointed.
  It's 1859 and Cristabel and the poet Randolph Ash (Jeremy Northam) become mutually attracted, even though the former is currently involved in a relationship with... more info

• Victorianism has to be revisited urgently
  Delicate and precious, the film deals with a very embarrassing victorian reality about the poet Ash and his female lover Lamotte. This latter had made the choice of lesbianism, one way to escape the victorian fate for women : to be a totally subservient wife. She falls in love with the poet through a long correspondance and finally yields to desire and passion. She will be pregnant and will deliver in France away from prying eyes. Her female lover will kill herself and she will forever lose her poet-lover,... more info

• Fascinating
  I think the film is a wonderful and clever adaptation of the book Posession merging past&present perfectly together.

  I especially like the way past happenings and present events seemed to emerge from one another, switching from present to past and back. It was wonderfully carried out, photography really did credit to the production. So did the different beautiful poems and bits of letters linking the two levels: first read by Roland and Maud just to switch it to Christabel and Ash or back. Very... more info

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