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The turbulent, adulterous relationship between Queen Victoria's poet laureate and a fiercely independent beauty is chronicled in Neil LaBute's romantic drama Possession, but it comprises only part of this elaborately constructed, deeply passionate movie. In fact, the romance between Randolph Ash (Jeremy Northam) and the exotic Christabel (Jennifer Ehle) is merely one of two described in LaBute's film adaptation of A. S. Byatt's award-winning novel. The other, equally complex and just as engrossing, involves Roland (Aaron Eckhart), an American scholar, and his British counterpart, Maud (top-billed Gwyneth Paltrow). Quite by accident, Roland finds one of Ash's love letters to Christabel. Maud initially pooh-poohs his discovery but reluctantly helps him undertake a search for the truth -- a truth that will change the world's understanding of the great poet. During this process the two academics fall in love and come to realize that their romance is every bit as star-crossed as the one they're investigating. This complicated tale is very much at odds with LaBute's earlier, hard-edged works In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbors. In fact, with its sumptuous production, measured pacing, and understated acting, Possession resembles the type of movie you associate with the Merchant-Ivory team. The premise is quite bewitching, and LaBute weaves a spell that makes the film dreamlike, so much so that one is actually disappointed when it ends. That kind of enchantment is rarely found in contemporary movies, and it makes Possession a clear standout among recent dramas. LaBute provides a commentary for the DVD. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

In Neil LaBute's film adaptation of A.S. Byatt's Booker Prize-winning 1990 novel, Aaron Eckhart (who has starred in all of LaBute's films) plays Roland Michell, an American academic researcher, working in London, who discovers some important letters written by a famous Victorian poet, Randolph Henry Ash (Jeremy Northam [Gosford Park]). Ash was presumed to have been totally devoted to his wife, but Roland finds letters written to another unnamed woman, and soon determines that the intended recipient was another, less well-known poet, Christabel LaMotte (Jennifer Ehle of Sunshine). Roland contacts Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow), an expert on LaMotte's life and work, who tells him that LaMotte couldn't have had an affair with Ash because she lived most of her life with a female companion, Blanche Glover (Lena Headey), in what was apparently a romantic relationship. Despite Maud's skepticism, the two begin to investigate, and uncover a wealth of information about the affair between the two poets. Period scenes of the illicit relationship between Ash and LaMotte are intercut with the contemporary investigation of the two academics. Roland and Maud initially fight their attraction to each other, but as the pair find more evidence of the historical and tragic romance, they find themselves overcoming their own resistance to romantic entanglement. Possession was kicked around as a film project for a long time before LaBute became interested. Director Sydney Pollack originally was slated to film a screenplay by David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), who receives a credit on the finished film. When LaBute took over the project years later, he reworked the screenplay with Laura Jones (The Portrait of a Lady). Josh Ralske

Chicago Sun-Times

1/2
It's sexy to observe two couples who think and debate their connections, who quote poetry to each other, who consciously try to enhance their relationships by seeking metaphors and symbols they can attach to. Roger Ebert

Hollywood Reporter

Witty, literate and mesmerizing bit of romantic escapism. Kirk Honeycutt

New York Observer

It is risky, intelligent, romantic and rapturous from start to finish. Rex Reed

Product Details

• UPC: 025192240324
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: Español
• Time: 1:43:00
• Sales Rank: 15,840

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