Possession
I am tired of writing about Spence and Sadie's trials -- suffice to say, they are off the plane and things are moving -- and I thought I would mention the latest film I watched courtesy of Netflix last night.
It is called Possession and is based on the book by A.S. Byatt of the same title. I enjoyed the book a number of years ago -- in part because my husband, The Prof, is a prof and we know all about academic oneupsmanship and backstabbing. When he was in grad school it was everywhere. In big universities it's a way of life.
The story is about a couple of academics, played by Aaron Eckhart and Gwyneth Paltrow, who find themselves allies trying to track down information that will blow the lid off previous academic scholarship about the life of a couple of noteworthy 19th century literati. The story is a romance on two levels -- modern and 19th century -- and it portrays academic life pretty much as it really can be (except I only ever had one professor who looked remotely like Aaron Eckhart, and I don't think anyone has ever had one who looked like Gwyneth Paltrow!)
There is a wonderfully telling line in the early part of the movie, where Fergus Wolff, who is a bit higher in the academic food chain than Eckhart's character, Roland Michell, remarks smugly that Michell is at the bottom. And Michell says, "Yes, but at least I'm still on it."
The trick is not to get eaten. Unless you've met men who will stab each other in the back over Victorian poets, though, you can't imagine how they could be real. They are. Ask The Prof. Ask Kate Walker's husband. Ask any academic you know.
Anyway, it was a nice adaptation of the book. Aaron Eckhart makes a wonderfully scruffy American post-grad dealing with centuries of British "We Know Best." He's possibly a bit of a caricature of the brash American, but he backs off enough that you can't help but cheer for him. Especially when the prize is not only proving that Ash really did have a relationship with LaMotte and thereby securing his academic position, but also Gwyneth Paltrow. Heck of a deal.
I enjoyed the film a lot. If you aren't married to an academic or if books and old letters don't intrigue you, don't bother -- unless you just like looking at Aaron Eckhart or Gwyneth Paltrow. That could be reason enough, and I completely understand.
It's a pleasure to see a film made from a book that doesn't wholly destroy all the good memories you've got of the book. I'm looking forward to watching the commentary tonight -- after Spence and Sadie get me into the next chapter.
By the way, the prizes from the drawings at Lucy's blog and The Great Montana Cowboy Auction have been sent out to the winners. So if you were a winner -- Linda, Cathie, Judy, and Cherie, this means you -- keep your eye out for them.
And if you haven't entered the Wedding Bells II contest, please drop by my website and do so on the contest link. It ends September 1st.
It is called Possession and is based on the book by A.S. Byatt of the same title. I enjoyed the book a number of years ago -- in part because my husband, The Prof, is a prof and we know all about academic oneupsmanship and backstabbing. When he was in grad school it was everywhere. In big universities it's a way of life.
The story is about a couple of academics, played by Aaron Eckhart and Gwyneth Paltrow, who find themselves allies trying to track down information that will blow the lid off previous academic scholarship about the life of a couple of noteworthy 19th century literati. The story is a romance on two levels -- modern and 19th century -- and it portrays academic life pretty much as it really can be (except I only ever had one professor who looked remotely like Aaron Eckhart, and I don't think anyone has ever had one who looked like Gwyneth Paltrow!)
There is a wonderfully telling line in the early part of the movie, where Fergus Wolff, who is a bit higher in the academic food chain than Eckhart's character, Roland Michell, remarks smugly that Michell is at the bottom. And Michell says, "Yes, but at least I'm still on it."
The trick is not to get eaten. Unless you've met men who will stab each other in the back over Victorian poets, though, you can't imagine how they could be real. They are. Ask The Prof. Ask Kate Walker's husband. Ask any academic you know.
Anyway, it was a nice adaptation of the book. Aaron Eckhart makes a wonderfully scruffy American post-grad dealing with centuries of British "We Know Best." He's possibly a bit of a caricature of the brash American, but he backs off enough that you can't help but cheer for him. Especially when the prize is not only proving that Ash really did have a relationship with LaMotte and thereby securing his academic position, but also Gwyneth Paltrow. Heck of a deal.
I enjoyed the film a lot. If you aren't married to an academic or if books and old letters don't intrigue you, don't bother -- unless you just like looking at Aaron Eckhart or Gwyneth Paltrow. That could be reason enough, and I completely understand.
It's a pleasure to see a film made from a book that doesn't wholly destroy all the good memories you've got of the book. I'm looking forward to watching the commentary tonight -- after Spence and Sadie get me into the next chapter.
By the way, the prizes from the drawings at Lucy's blog and The Great Montana Cowboy Auction have been sent out to the winners. So if you were a winner -- Linda, Cathie, Judy, and Cherie, this means you -- keep your eye out for them.
And if you haven't entered the Wedding Bells II contest, please drop by my website and do so on the contest link. It ends September 1st.
posted by Anne McAllister at 3:10 PM
2 Comments:
Thanks for the film rec, Anne - this is one of my favourite books of all time (and the original hardback also happens to have my favourite painting of all time on the dustjacket), so I've avoided the film in case it didn't live up to the book.
You're SO right about academia. And then there's this need to find more, discover something that's been forgotten or ignored for years and years and years... (Yup, this is related to my research into the cottage and the mill. I think Kate Walker is so right about not being able to get a word in edgeways, come September - with you, Steve and me talking history...)
Kate,
I hope you enjoy the film. Don't expect it to have the depth of the book, which was wonderful. But it does gloss over the top -- give people an inkling of the extent to which academics will go in pursuit of whatever their 'hobbyhorse' is at the moment. And as I said, Aaron Eckhart is easy on the eyes. That Gwyneth Paltrow is, I believe has been sufficiently established!
I was a little put off by them making Roland American, but if you listen to the director's commentary, you get an idea why they did it. Not sure I buy it, but I can see their point. It's a shorthand way of accomplishing a 'difference' that we use in series fiction when we put in a 'Greek tycoon' or 'cowboy' or someone like that.
Anyway, let me know what you think!
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