Nine-Tenths of the Law

Here's a cheapjack attempt to make a romance in the fashion of The French Lieutenant's Woman - a sort of story within a story.

Thu, 31 Oct, 2002 - 14:35

Possession

Director: Neil LaBute

Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart, Jeremy Northam, Jennifer Ehle, Lena Headey

Cert: 15PG.

Here's a cheapjack attempt to make a romance in the fashion of The French Lieutenant's Woman - a sort of story within a story.

Based on the A.S. Byatt Booker Prize-winning novel, we have the story of a couple of academics (Paltrow and Eckhart) discovering a romance between two 19th Century poets (Ehle and Northam).

It's a story told in flashbacks, from the glossy modern to the dreamy Victorian.

The problem is that director LaBute seems unable to understand either of the two time elements or unable to infuse his film with even the merest hint of life and interest.

It's a film of boring proportions and it's a boredom which clearly took hold of the cast from the moment they stepped onto the set.

Star Rating: 1/5