Sylvia

Rating:
Summary: Good for Some People!
Review: "Sylvia" is a true story of a poet. Sylvia Plath met and married Edward Hughes, another writer, and lived through serious depression, many sucide attempts, and her husband's infidelity, untill she successfully killed herslef in 1963. This movie follows the time from when she met her husband, to finally, her death, and the poem's that she writes, and the people that she meets, all leading up to the end. Having read none of her poems. but having heard of her, I saw "Sylvia" without any readings of her works. I have a feeling that is why I didn't really like the movie. This is one of those movies that is good for a certain group of people, in this case, fans of Plath's poems. I did like Gwyneth Paltrow's preformance as Sylvia Plath, and she saved the film from being a complete disaster. Daniel Craig as Edward Hughes was good, but it was a bit callow. I couldn't picture any other actor in that role, but he also didn't do a very good job in it.

The film starts in 1956, and we are introduced to Sylvia Plath, a poet who doesn't get that good reviews on her work. The worst review is by Edward "Ted" Hughes, a fellow poet. But when Ted and Sylvia meet they fall in love with each other, and quickly get married. Ted meets Sylvia's mother Aurelia, and she tells Ted that he has to always be good to her. She has already tried to kill herself many times before, with sleeping pills, etc. The two move to America, and while Ted is writing away, Sylvia gets a case of writer's block. She begins to find herself jealous of Ted's success, and also begins to question wheather of not her husband is being faithful to her or not. Ted leaves her and she begins to lose her mind, despite advice to continue life from her friend and fan Al Alvarez, and Professor Thomas, her downstairs neighbor. As the years pass, and her depression deepens, Slyvia makes a choice that will change everything forever.

"Sylvia" is made up of either long poems, or very quiet scenes where we could just see how Sylvia is feeling. But that is what kind of a movie this is. Sylvia Plath was a poet, so throughout the film we hear alot of poetry. Sylvia is very quiet and depressed, so throughout the film there are quiet scenes dealing with Sylvia's depression. But I didn't know that this film was like that, so I was disappointed in the end. I thought the movie was boring, and it make you understand what it must have been like for Plath, but it fails. I didn't like it, but you might.

ENJOY!

Rated R for sexuality/nudity and language.

Rating:
Summary: It's A Gas!
Review: "Sylvia" is the kind of film that can only work with fantastic actors. Fortunately, the cast is superb. Sylvia Plath was an enormously talented poet who soared to great heights in her early years. Her bouts with depression are well chronicled and to portray her life in a balanced way is difficult at best. Director Christine Jeffs (Rain) knows just when to bring in the subtle (mostly dark) humor and when to dive into the seriousness of Sylvia's disease. Paltrow does an amazing job balancing both sides of Plath's personality, and the film can be exhausting. Thank God for a great cast, wonderful cinematography and well crafted editing. It's not an upbeat film, but if you've never read, "The Bell Jar", you might just end up picking up a copy.

Rating:
Summary: Dull, Dreary, Depressed
Review: A film by Christine Jeffs

"Sylvia" is a film about the life of the American poet Sylvia Plath (Gwyneth Paltrow). The film begins with Plath in college and being all upset about the review of her poetry in a magazine (it might have been a university magazine, but that is never made clear). Soon after she is told about another young poet named Ted Hughes (Daniel Craig). They meet and fall in lust, and despite the title of the movie being "Sylvia" the movie quickly becomes about Sylvia and Ted. Perhaps this is my greatest problem with "Sylvia", that we don't see Sylvia Plath as her own woman. Instead we see Sylvia Plath only in relation to Ted Hughes. I do not know too much about the life of Plath, but since her journals were posthumously published, and she is the author of "The Bell Jar", "Ariel" and won the Pulitzer Prize (also posthumously) for her collected poetry, surely she was a strong enough personality to actually be the subject of a movie which is supposedly about her. But, perhaps I'm wrong about that.

This is a depressing movie. Sylvia Plath was fairly depressive in her own life, and "Sylvia" gets this right. She is manic and unstable and emotionally beat down by Ted Hughes. Her marriage of ups and downs is mostly downs and apparently she is never able to find her focus in writing, though she does manage to publish a couple of books of poetry. She is still overshadowed by her more successful husband. At this point, I think "I" want to stick my head in an oven. It feels like Plath gets yanked around from place to place and is her own emotional rollercoaster and gets no emotional support from her husband who ends up cheating on her anyway.

We never really get to see Sylvia writing her poetry, or speaking her poetry, or using any of her intellectual talents other than in one early scene which sets up the lust between Plath and Hughes. The reason for this is probably because Sylvia Plath's daughter would not permit the filmmakers to use any of her mother's poetry, which meant that only whatever could be legally used outside of that permission was used. This left us with only a couple of brief lines of poetry from a very famous poet. This unquestionably harms the movie because we have no sense in why Plath is famous and remembered. All we have is what we see and hear in the movie and that is a depressed poet who doesn't write is having an unhappy life. Let me see "that" movie!

The problem is not the casting. Gwyneth Paltrow does an excellent job in portraying Sylvia Plath and she even looks remarkably like the pictures I have seen of Sylvia Plath. Daniel Craig does a fine job of Ted Hughes, though I have no sense of comparison. The problem is that this is a very dreary movie and it gives us no reason to care for these characters, especially the heroine. "Sylvia" is dull, it is boring. This was a good role for Gwyneth Paltrow to play, but she would have been better served in a different movie about Sylvia Plath. Grade: C-

-Joe Sherry

Rating:
Summary: perfect
Review: Absoultely perfect. I related to each word Gwyneth spoke in this film, as she has given the best portrayl of Syliva I've seen.

Rating:
Summary: Plath lovers wanted more!
Review: Although I thought Paltrow did a good job as Plath, I still felt this movie could have been so much more.
After all, Plath was so much more.
I did like the way Hughes was portrayed though...not just as the man who did Sylvia wrong, but as one who contributed, along with other circumstances, to her depression.
As one who knows a tremendous amount about Plath, I was expecting pure poetry, but instead I got, a pathetic woman crying, screaming and dying throughout the movie.
Plath was so much more, her poetry was so much more.
She deserved something exquisite...
Because she was exquisite.
And fun...when the devil was not crouching behind her ear, when she was not freezing her ass off in Great Britain, when she was writing in her journal.
Anyone would hate her after seeing this movie...
My suggestion---buy her journals. Completely superb!

Rating:
Summary: lover of plath's work
Review: as with any great novel or life story, one can't expect hollywood or even independent filmmakers to go into great detail or to simply avoid taking poetic license with even the best of stories. thus, sylvia is a masterful film about one of the greatest writers(in my opinion)that ever graced the pages of literature & poetry in my own personal library dispite the fact that it leaves out a good portion of important history. unfortunately, we do not get a great deal of insight here on plath's very first suicide attempt nor the elctro-shock treatments so many viewers may feel sylvia is an incomplete view of plath's life story & may be somewhat confused. however, plath followers or completists will most certainly be fascinated by paltrow's complete transformation into her character & utterly convincing performance as the troubled writer we loved so dearly. (in fact, i was shocked that gwyneth didn't receive atleast an oscar nod this year. then again, blythe danner could've easily garnered a nomination for best supporting actress as plath's mother but this didn't come through either.) sylvia also doesn't give a great deal of information as to why plath was so depressed or what provoked most of her sadness but is a handsome film neverthless & does reveal the great passion that ted hughes & sylvia shared. we do however see montages of a very jealous & nervous young woman with chronic depression in spurts & the genius within that tortured soul. for plath enthusiasts or obsessed fans of plath's work, this is definately film to be watched atleast once in our brief lives. the rest of the audience may want to stick their heads in an oven after seeing this film however. as with many ingenius writers not unlike virginia woolf, plath's story ends tragically but we learn a great deal about life & perhaps appreciate it a bit more. as one can probably assume, i loved watching this film & i would recommend it also if you enjoy films on classic writers such as iris or the hours which are both wonderful as well. i loved the opening scene with half of plath's face at the bottom of the screen as we hear the poem lady lazarus read in voice over. this is less typical of your hollywood story & has more in common with independent cinema.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Performances But "Sylvia" Lacks Depth.
Review: Director Christine Jeffs manages to strike an evenhanded tone in her biopic "Sylvia," which deals with the last few years in the life of poet Sylvia Plath. Jeffs doesn't place all the blame for Ms. Plath's suffering, deep depression and subsequent suicide on Ted Hughes, (which many Plath fans do), nor does she glorify the poet's pain. However, the complexities of Plath's psyche, illness, motivations and goals, the intricacies of her relationship and marriage to Hughes, and her roles as mother and poet, are short shrifted. I don't know if this flaw is due to the limitations of the medium or to problems with the screenwriting and direction. This is a film about a woman with a suicidal past who writes poetry, loves, marries, becomes depressed, insecure and jealous, has children, is "deceived," falls deeper into depression and turns on the gas - the main character just happens to be Sylvia Plath. I really would have liked to have seen more of an emphasis given to Plath's writing and love of literature. Ms. Plath also placed tremendous importance on parenting her children and often found much pleasure in being a mother and a wife, as well as a poet. This is not evident in the movie.

Sylvia Plath's story is a desperate and tragic one. However, the movie dwells on her depression to the extent that it appears the writer never had a happy moment after her honeymoon. Even the film's use of color reflects this unhappy mood. Plath dresses in warm colors up until her wedding, after which her clothes and the ambient colors become darker and darker. Her writer's block is clearly shown but her periods of extreme productivity, especially toward the end of her life, when, writing through the nights she poured poetry onto the page with almost manic energy, are not really portrayed. All the biographies I have read on Sylvia Plath discuss the joy she found in motherhood. Her exhaustion caring for two small children, taking care of her home and writing is evident throughout the movie, as it was in real life. But nowhere is Ms. Plath shown laughing and playing with her children, with the exception of a brief Christmas scene. Her small daughter is almost always shown toddling behind her mother, a bewildered, sad expression on her face. Nor does the movie show Ms. Plath's tremendous struggle to live, fighting against her overwhelming depression. The contrasts between happiness and deep sorrow, energy and listlessness, struggle for control over her demons and loss of control are strangely absent. The character of Sylvia Plath ultimately comes across as a relatively passive figure, at the mercy of her mental illness, whose moods are closely tied to her husband's demonstrations of affection and attention.

Gwyneth Paltrow does a wonderful job, as always, given the material she had to work with. Her performance is sensitive and intense. The few times she recites poetry, including a wonderful scene where she does a small bit from Chaucer's "Wife of Bath" in Middle English, are extraordinary. Daniel Craig as Ted Hughes is excellent, capturing the magnetic charisma of the poet, his bewilderment as his relationship falls apart, and his careless indifference toward Sylvia's suffering and his children's vulnerability. Blythe Danner, Paltrow's mother in real life, is excellent in the role of Plath's mother and Michael Gambon does an extraordinary job as the sympathetic downstairs neighbor.

I have been a big fan of Sylvia Plath's poetry for many years and have read some excellent biographies on the poet as well as work by Ted Hughes. This is a difficult review for me to write because I want to be objective about the film, which does oversimplify Ms. Plath's life. We get the facts but not the depth. There is a tremendous lack of scope here. If one is not familiar with Plath and her work I am not sure that the movie would inform with more than a melodramatic overview of her life. As stated above, the acting is fine and the photography appropriately moody. For a more comprehensive experience I would suggest reading some of Ms. Plath's exceptional poetry, if you haven't already, before viewing the film.
JANA

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Performances But "Sylvia" Lacks Depth.
Review: Director Christine Jeffs manages to strike an evenhanded tone in her biopic "Sylvia," which deals with the last few years in the life of poet Sylvia Plath. Jeffs doesn't place all the blame for Ms. Plath's suffering, deep depression and subsequent suicide on Ted Hughes, (which many Plath fans do), nor does she glorify the poet's pain. However, the complexities of Plath's psyche, illness, motivations and goals, the intricacies of her relationship and marriage to Hughes, and her roles as mother and poet, are short shrifted. I don't know if this flaw is due to the limitations of the medium or to problems with the screenwriting and direction. This is a film about a woman with a suicidal past who writes poetry, loves, marries, becomes depressed, insecure and jealous, has children, is "deceived," falls deeper into depression and turns on the gas - the main character just happens to be Sylvia Plath. I really would have liked to have seen more of an emphasis given to Plath's writing and love of literature. Ms. Plath also placed tremendous importance on parenting her children and often found much pleasure in being a mother and a wife, as well as a poet. This is not evident in the movie.

Sylvia Plath's story is a desperate and tragic one. However, the movie dwells on her depression to the extent that it appears the writer never had a happy moment after her honeymoon. Even the film's use of color reflects this unhappy mood. Plath dresses in warm colors up until her wedding, after which her clothes and the ambient colors become darker and darker. Her writer's block is clearly shown but her periods of extreme productivity, especially toward the end of her life, when, writing through the nights she poured poetry onto the page with almost manic energy, are not really portrayed. All the biographies I have read on Sylvia Plath discuss the joy she found in motherhood. Her exhaustion caring for two small children, taking care of her home and writing is evident throughout the movie, as it was in real life. But nowhere is Ms. Plath shown laughing and playing with her children, with the exception of a brief Christmas scene. Her small daughter is almost always shown toddling behind her mother, a bewildered, sad expression on her face. Nor does the movie show Ms. Plath's tremendous struggle to live, fighting against her overwhelming depression. The contrasts between happiness and deep sorrow, energy and listlessness, struggle for control over her demons and loss of control are strangely absent. The character of Sylvia Plath ultimately comes across as a relatively passive figure, at the mercy of her mental illness, whose moods are closely tied to her husband's demonstrations of affection and attention.

Gwyneth Paltrow does a wonderful job, as always, given the material she had to work with. Her performance is sensitive and intense. The few times she recites poetry, including a wonderful scene where she does a small bit from Chaucer's "Wife of Bath" in Middle English, are extraordinary. Daniel Craig as Ted Hughes is excellent, capturing the magnetic charisma of the poet, his bewilderment as his relationship falls apart, and his careless indifference toward Sylvia's suffering and his children's vulnerability. Blythe Danner, Paltrow's mother in real life, is excellent in the role of Plath's mother and Michael Gambon does an extraordinary job as the sympathetic downstairs neighbor.

I have been a big fan of Sylvia Plath's poetry for many years and have read some excellent biographies on the poet as well as work by Ted Hughes. This is a difficult review for me to write because I want to be objective about the film, which does oversimplify Ms. Plath's life. We get the facts but not the depth. There is a tremendous lack of scope here. If one is not familiar with Plath and her work I am not sure that the movie would inform with more than a melodramatic overview of her life. As stated above, the acting is fine and the photography appropriately moody. For a more comprehensive experience I would suggest reading some of Ms. Plath's exceptional poetry, if you haven't already, before viewing the film.
JANA

Rating:
Summary: Gal Mad for Rad Lad, Who's a Cad.. - Is Sad, Film Bad.
Review: Everyone knew going in that this was a weepy, which is fine, but there were not enough good qualities here to save this film. The script and direction was one-note and the result was boredom. A heaping helping of dreary melancholy. Not delicious.

The way this kind of movie usually works is to hint at great depth and beauty that cannot be reached in only 2 hours, thereby letting the audience's imagination fill in the details.

But the conversations here are too short and there's just not enough context to really care about these people. There's no romantic joy in this film. Only struggle - to marry, to work, to write, to stay together. So later when things go downhill all that one sees are these grim, morose figures, looking into oblivion. I was looking at my watch.

In a dark forshadowing, so to speak, the Hughes/Plath estate refused to allow the producers to use any of their poems in the film. There goes the substance.. They really should have pulled the plug, but I guess they were too far along.

Rating:
Summary: a great flick!
Review: For starters, I'm a pretty big Plath-a-holic. I saw this film at the sold out Cineworld Film Festival back in November and every time I've seen it since then, I've been blown away.

I liked the fact that the directors didn't make Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes to be wonderfully nice people, but they seemed to tone down all of the characters' worst qualities. Plath wasn't as rude as many biographers have made her out to be, and in the movie, Hughes had only one bona fide affair. Aurelia Plath, Sylvia's mother, was quite brash, but not portrayed as brashly as in most Plath biographies. Another Plath habit that wasn't included in the movie is that of Plath's dying her hair different colors when she was going through phases. Seeing that and maybe having a line or two of Hughes asking Plath why she dyed her hair would have been helpful in understanding Plath's transitions in mood.

As far as casting goes, I've long held the belief that Gwyneth Paltrow is the perfect Sylvia Plath. The guy playing Ted Hughes was a bit too old for the beginning. The actress playing Aurelia Plath really confused me. She said things Aurelia Plath might have said, and mingled with the neighbors the way Aurelia Plath would have, but there was something missing.

Something I absolutely loved about this movie were little references to Plath. For instance, her license plate read "AOK [and then some number]." When she tried to make up with Hughes, they drank a bottle of Nuits St. Georges wine (referred to in The Bell Jar) in the vintage year 1959, the year when Plath really began to make poetic breakthroughs.

There were also camera shots here and there that I really liked. One shot featured Plath crying, and a teardrop was stuck at the tip of her nose. Another was of Plath in her bathtub, her pale face looking almost ghostly in the murky green water.

In general, I was pleased with Sylvia. If you know a lot about Plath, you'll probably be very happy with it. If you don't know too much about her real life, you'll probably just think it's okay.