Elegy (2008)

It's a Penelope Cruz festival! Her part in this couldn't be more different from her two-note character in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, not that there's anything wrong with that. The Charlie Rose interview in the beginning defines Ben Kingsley's character, and I imagine I will soon forget that a fictional character made those observations about sex. Maybe because they were conceived (ha!) by Philip Roth. Since the credits rolled at the end, I had almost forgotten it was based on Roth's work, but the subject matter reminded me. A well-crafted timely story, brilliantly cast and acted. Watch for a cameo by Deborah Harry (lead singer of Blondie). Isabel Coixet also directed one of the segments (Bastille, with Miranda Richardson) in Paris Je T'aime, a delightful compendium from 2006. I liked the furniture in Kingsley's apartment, too. This is not for the kiddies, and features some Cruz-skin, far from gratuitously.