Rating: 
Summary: wonderful! wonderful! wonderful!
Review: This movie was superb. I was left at the end with tears and a smile. I have not read the book so don't know how it compares to the film, but this story was very moving and the characters were exceptionally brought to life on screen.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than I expected
Review: I loved A.S. Byatt's novel "Possession"; I've read it at least five times. So I didn't expect the film version to come close to what I've pictured in my head. And truthfully, it didn't compare.However, it was much better, smarter and more faithful than I expected. Despite the totally unnecessary Americanizing of Roland, I enjoyed the film. I liked Gwyneth Paltrow as Maude; she actually looks much as I visualized Maude. But the real stars were Jennifer Ehle and Jeremy Northram as Christabel and Randolph Henry Ash. They captured the passion and desperation that I think these two people would have felt in that situation. They made the film work. The best moments with the modern lovers came when they were in the process of uncovering the truth. You could feel a little of the crack of excitement that intellectual discovery arouses in some people. Films don't often capture that. The cinematography was lovely, and the juxtapositions between the Victorian lovers and the modern academics was very well done. I particularly liked the moments when the camera panned in a continuous shot from the past to the present, and vice versa. This film is worth seeing, and if it makes people want to read the book after seeing it, all the better.
Rating: 
Summary: Nine-tenths of the Law
Review: "Possession" is an interesting film, if not completely engaging. One assumes that director Neil Labute cast Aaron Eckhart because he's also starred in the director's other films "In the Company of Men," "Your Friends & Neighbors" & "Nurse Betty." Unfortunately, while the two men obviously enjoy working together, Gweneth Paltrow and Eckhart do not have the screen chemistry to pull off a convincing romance. Thus, the film suffers with the present far less convincing than the past. Jeremy Northern who I enjoyed as Dean Martin in the TV movie "Martin & Lewis" and in "Gosford Park" is utterly dreamy-eyed as poet Randolph Henry Ash smitten by Christabel LaMotte. Ash who is apparently faithful in a sexless marriage gets his hormones honed when haunting the lesbian LaMotte's daydreams. Jennifer Ehle who is actress Rosemary Harris' daughter must have watched Meryl Streep in "French Lieutenant's Woman." The costumer who drapes her in a flowing anorak also mimics Meryl's attire. However, the searing intensity of Ehle's performance is hauntingly original and effective as she leaves her lesbian lover for the poet, bearing a child in France. Lena Heady as the lesbian Blanche Glover isn't given a lot to do; but she does drown herself exceptionally well. Paltrow's Maud Bailey is studied and controlled. I found her British accent as endearing as it was convincing. As the script is written with Eckhart the American scholar and Paltrow as the reserved British researcher, the romance more hinges on Eckhart who seems more smitten with himself than with Paltrow. I kept wishing he would shave. The film does have interesting elements as the mystery of the past unravels, but the pacing does bog a bit in the present as the leads allow much anxiety about their lovemaking. All in all, I found this an intelligent and enjoyable piece, more remarkable for the past than the present. The DVD does not offer much in the way of bonus materials, just the theatrical trailer and director's commentary. With possession being nine-tenths of the law, this would be one I might enjoy owning to revisit the past. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: not bad
Review: Having read the book before coming to the movie, I suppose I might be a bit biased in this review. However, I was quite impressed by the judicious adaptation of A.S. Byatt's very complex novel. The film simplified some of the minor sub-plots while being true to the gist of the story. It could have been much worse. Then again, it could have been better. I thought the decision to turn Roland into an American was unnecessary and the determination of the screenwriters to add comments about him being American in every scene was a bit much. Roland also had changed...he was no longer the gentle self-effacing young scolar who discovers his latent talent for poetry, but had become charismatic, forward, even flirty. Why couldn't they have left poor Roland alone? The screenwriters evidently thought that the real, underachieving Roland wasn't good enough for U.S. audiences. All in all, the "modern" romance with Maud Bailey and Roland Mitchell was unsatisfying. Their best moments were when they were caught up in the excitement of shared intellectual discovery. I love the part when they discover Christobel's letters and you can just see the wheels in Maud's mind turning. When they turned towards each other, however, the romance was sadly unconvincing. Jeremy Northam and Jennifer Ehle, however, succeeded admirably in their portrayal of Randolph Ash and Christobel Lamotte. The moment they first set eyes on each other you could see the trembling in Ash's face and the KNOWING in Christobel's when they realize that their fate has arrived. Jennifer Ehle seemed to completely capture the essence of Christobel! I had imagined her mouth just so...a little tight, a little ironic. Their restrained, then released passion for each other was very well done...it made the movie worthwhile. Some very beautiful devices for switching between the Victorians and the moderns - the juxtaposition of the two time periods was well integrated and helped to give the sense of "possession"; those steps had been walked before. I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it, though the scenes between Roland and Maud made me roll my eyes.
Rating:
Summary: Predictable, but Enjoyable
Review: I'm not familiar with A.S. Byatt's novel, on which this film was based, so whatever opinions I have are based on this movie alone (I always thought it was so wrong for people to insist on comparing movies and books to each other anyway). The two good-looking leads are enough to get people to watch this film in droves, but the literary slant of it all might be a little too heavy and slow-moving for many. Aaron Eckhart, whom I have never heard of before, is the academic Roland Mitchell and exactly what I would imagine a Ken doll (of Ken and Barbie fame) to look like if he were a real person. He's tall, light-haired and has this really deep cleft chin that looks like you could store quarters in. And Gwyneth Paltrow is Maud Bailey, and seemingly more interesting than usual because she always manages to play Brits better than Americans. The two are on some Nancy Drew type mystery chase to figure out whether the Victorian poets Randolph Henry Ash (Jeremy Northam) and Christabel Lamotte (Jennifer Ehle) were having an illicit love affair. By tracing old poems, letters, and even staying in the same hotel room the poets shared over a century ago, Roland and Maud eventually find themselves falling in love with each other as well. Predictable ho-hum romantic movie fare, but not at all a bad way to spend 102 minutes. And all the poetry they keep spouting out made me feel a little bit smarter after the movie was done.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Masterpiece
Review: This was a pleasant suprise to me. The acting was top notch, with Gwyneth Paltrow obviously standing out. The other characters were well-acted as well, although Christabelle Lamont's character looked suspiciously like Meryl Streep, but it was all good. The story, in my opinion, was extremely interesting. It kept me on the edge of my seat and kept me wanting to find out more about the secretive affair. Overall, a great movie that I feel was overlooked by many, undeservingly.
Rating: 
Summary: Sorely disappointed
Review: I'm rarely disappointed by a movie made from a novel I loved. I'm just generally a big fan of movies and I love seeing the characters I've imagined come to life with someone else's creative eye. And this movie could have been so great--which made it that much more painful to watch what was in fact created. The changes they made to the book to create this movie only took away from the story and characters. For instance, in the novel Roland is a very British obsessive poetic historian in an unfulfilling relationship with a bitter girlfriend and they live in a tiny dank apartment below an old lady with lots of cats whose depressing life scares him and who doesn't let them go into her garden to breathe fresh air. In the movie they made him like the men in a dozen sitcoms, condemning of love after a bunch of bad relationships, single, living in an apartment below a rich bachelor, and worst of all--they made him American. Why change the character so drastically? The Roland of the book had depth while the Roland of the movie was purely superficial. And Roland's not the only one--the only characters who had nearly as much depth in the movie as the ones in the book were Ash and Christobel. Once you make the changes in character, changes in story line are inevitable. There was no tension and intimacy in their trip to Yorkshire. There was no excitement in their trip to France. There was no joy in the final discovery, no moodiness given to the grave digging scene, no edge of your seat anticipation in the chase for the last piece of the mystery. They took out all the details that would have made all these events have real meaning. The fact is that Possession is a complicated book with a lot to try to portray in a movie. But I can't help but think if say Merchant Ivory or Robert Altman did it, they could have conveyed so much more in the time they had. Instead what was created was a glossed over superficial film of a book that's all about deeper passion.
Rating:
Summary: Impossible to do justice to the Byatt novel - still 5 stars
Review: OK the movie isn't the novel but then very very few films are.
This is not slowly paced as some other reviewers relate, merely
more is going on 'between the ears'. It will be important to
actually WATCH the movie. CAREFULLY. If you felt that '84
Charring Cross Road' was not a good movie, do yourself a favor
and skip this one too. I havent enjoyed myself this much
since 'The Contender'. I was happy to get the DVD since it this
never played in my home state, and frankly that's their loss.
A. S. Byatt is an extremely good writer and so I recommend the
book as well.
Rating:
Summary: OK, but doesn't do justice to the novel
Review: I saw this film shortly after reading the book, which is usually a bad idea. This was no exception, as Possession the movie is a greatly simplified and less significant work than the novel by A.S. Byatt. To be fair, the long and multifaceted novel would be almost impossible to recreate on screen. The film, however, could have done a better job in capturing the romantic and literary feeling of the book. Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart play Maud Bailey and Roland Mitchell, a pair of scholars who uncover evidence of a secret affair between Victorian poets Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel Lamotte. While Gwyneth Paltrow gives a flawless performance (and displays her flawless English accent), Aaron Eckhart comes across more like a male model or soap opera star than an introspective graduate student. His looks, clothes, body language and glib lines are at odds with the story's aura of tragic romance. Perhaps director Neil Labute was afraid if he cast Roland Mitchell as the tentative and somewhat bumbling (and English) character of the book he'd alienate modern American audiences. Possession, like its lead characters, is nice to look at, with its scenic vistas of hills and and quaint seaside villages. It also captures some of the intellectual excitement felt by people who care about anachronistic things like history and poetry. It does not, however, get much beneath the surface of things. There is just too much plot here to cram into 100 or so minutes of film. Aside from the contemporary scholars and their Victorian counterparts, there is a complex sublot concerning another faction of academics attempting to seize a collection of letters between Ash and Lamotte. This competition is awkwardly resolved with a fistfight in a graveyard. The best I can say about Possession is that it's an interesting and visually pleasing but unmemorable romance. Those who haven't read the book are likely to have a less prejudiced and more charitable opinion of it.
Rating:
Summary: A truly beautiful film from beginning to end
Review: I wasn't sure what to expect with this film, but since I love books and poetry I figured I would give it a try. I found myself amazed by this wonderful movie. Its the story of two scholars researching the lives of two poets that supposedly had no connection at all to each other. Ash was a poet that was supposedly a devout husband and Christabel was a lesbian poet living out her life with her lover. What no one knew was that Ash and Christabel had a passionate affair that is uncovered when the present day Roland discovers an old letter at the library. Its then he begins to search for the truth with a distant relative of Christabel's, Maude. From then on, the story unfolds between the present and 1859. As they make discoveries, Maude and Roland are changed by this forever. This is truly an amazing and romantic film that doesn't bore. The actors are all amazing and the flashes between then and now is done perfectly. If you are fascinated with the past as I am, you will love this. Its a literary film that isn't at all stuffy and the romance is weaved beautifully. I recommend this highly. All in all, a wonderful film to be cherished.
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