Sylvia

Rating:
Summary: Totally off-track but worth the effort
Review: When you examine the life of someone such as Sylvia Plath, her spirit alone somehow makes you obsessed. I can't explain it but all I did was take one glance at her photo in a school literature book a year ago and haven't stopped being fascinated by every aspect of her life. Naturally I wanted to see this film but was unable to because it was released as far as I know only in New York and L.A.. I said screw it until the DVD came along and I bought it. As Yoda would put it, "Very disappointed I was". Any Plath fanatic worth their salt would totally dismiss the movie because to this day it would be hard to cast an actress who could properly embody Plath and her uniqueness, the way she looked, the way she spoke, etc; but the closest they were able to get was with Gwenyth Paltrow, whose performance was admirable nonetheless. Ted Hughes was played by Daniel Craig, the love interest of Angelina Jolie's "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider", but yet again if you compared the two you would see no physical or even spoken similarities. I will give the movie credit however for condensing a massive tale of darkness and passion to 2 hours without making it look like a mess, but I still thought a lot of integral moments were left out. In fact I know there are some deleted scenes floating about somewhere because in the trailer it shows brief clips of Sylvia and Ted playing darts (?), and Sylvia in a rain storm saying, "Never leave me." In retrospect, this isn't for hardcore Plath-ites, but for someone wanting a fairly decent education on one of the 20th century's greatest poets, rent it.

Rating:
Summary: Triumphal Heat
Review: www.iwishicouldbeontime.blogsopt.com
In this brilliant film about the life and death of one of America's most poignant poets, Sylvia Plath, the film takes a turn and looks at the triumph of suicide. In today's society suicide is often labeled with negative conations; but to poet Sylvia Plath, her death was a success. Sylvia Plath suffered with mental illness for years and as the days continued for her, daily life was harder to face. Death to her was salvation. Sylvia took her own life to save the lives of her children. For people to understand this concept, they must understand the destruction of a mental illness. By using her poetry this film tells the story of Sylvia's life. The film is an excellent depiction of the life of Sylvia Plath. Not only does this film brilliantly show her life, but it also looks deep inside the heartache of psychological sickness. This film shows the oppressiveness of Sylvia Plath's most important companion, Ted Hughes. The film illustrates Ted Hughes as a man who was filled with broken promises, which is a beautiful representation of the truth that is often not explained to followers of Sylvia Plath. This film is a story that should been seen and discussed especially by those who suffer mental illness. The film makes a person wonder about their own lives, yet at the same time gives a bit of hope and the strength to continue.

Rating:
Summary: Very Depressing.....
Review: Yes, you can't deny the above fact. There is no way that this movie could be anything but depressing. It's loosely based on the life of poet Sylvia Plath, who was an ecceptional poet and writer, but a very depressed, mentally unstable person. She largely felt overshadowed by her famous husband Ted Hughes. She was depressed from early on in her childhood, and never really got over that fact in her adult life. I think the movie was done as well as it could possibly be done, considering there is really no happiness to be found in Sylvia's life. I do think the director could have focused more on Sylvia's writing life, considering she did write some amazing things. However, I found Gwyneth Paltrow's performance to be utter perfection. She nailed Sylvia's bleak, moody outlook on life to a T. See this movie if only to see what an amazing and versatile actress Gwyneth Paltrow is.