Possession (PG-13, 2002)

No one thinks more carefully about words than poets, scholars, and detectives. All three come together in two parallel love stories spanning two centuries, based on the novel by A.S. Byatt. Roland Michell (Aaron Eckhart) is an English lit scholar who gets little respect because he is a lowly research assistant and an American. Assigned the trivial task of leafing through a famous 19th century poet's personal copy of a science book, in case the poet made any interesting marginal notes, he makes an astounding discovery. The poet, Randolph Henry Ash (Jeremy Northern), was famous for his devotion to his wife. But between the pages of the old book are what appear to be Ash's love letters to another woman. Impulsively, Roland takes the pages. They are potentially a career-making discovery. But more important, they are exactly the kind of scholarly mystery that fires his mind and spirit. Roland decides that the Ash letters may have been written to Christabel LaMotte (Jennifer Ehle), a minor poet. Roland goes to meet with Maud Bailey, (Gwyneth Paltrow), a professor, who is not only an expert on LaMotte, but also a great-niece. From there, the story goes back and forth between the two sets of lovers.

Director Neil LaBute, best known for his harrowing and very contemporary portrayals of bitter, selfish, and manipulative people and abusive relationships in Your Friends and Neighbors and In the Company of Men, is an unexpected choice for this film. It required him to adapt someone else's material, work with settings in another time and place, and portray relationships with genuine respect and intimacy. While he is not able to master the scope of the novel, the result is smart, satisfying, and fun.

This is a high-gloss romance with pretty people falling in love. Forget bodice-ripping -- bodice untying is conclusively shown to be even more voluptuous. But the subtlety and complexity of the novel is lost. There are vestiges about some ambitious thoughts about love, honor, risk, emotional and intellectual precision, and even scholarship, but what remains is a nice date movie, but not much more.

Studio: USA Films
Director: Neil LaBute
Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Northam
Genre: Romance
Run time: 103 minutes
Theatrical release: August 9, 2002
DVD release: February 11, 2003
MPAA Rating: PG-13
MPAA explanation: sexual references and situations