Elegy (film)

Elegy is a 2008 drama directed by Spanish director Isabel Coixet and based on a Philip Roth novel, The Dying Animal. The film is set in New York City, but was filmed in Vancouver.

Story:

David Kepesh (Ben Kingsley) is a cultural critic and professor, in a state of 'emancipated manhood'. Previously married, he has a son who has never forgiven him for leaving his mother. His relationships with women are usually casual, brief and sexual in nature. His Pulitzer Prize-winning friend, George O'Hearn (Dennis Hopper), suggests that he "bifurcate" his life: have conversations and enjoy art with a wife, and "keep the sex just for sex".

Believing himself to be an independent and self-actualized individual, he encounters Consuela Castillo (Penélope Cruz), a beautiful and confident student who attends one of his lectures. She captures his attention like no other woman, and they begin a serious relationship. David is also in a casual 20-year relationship with Caroline (Patricia Clarkson), another former student.

Over dinner, Consuela invites David to her graduation party. George advises him to leave her before she leaves him. Consuela waits for an answer, but David only promises, "I'll have to check my schedule." Consuela is frustrated. In the end, he agrees to attend. On the day of the event, David phones Consuela and claims he has blown a tire and is stuck in bad traffic and it will be unavoidably delayed. In reality, he is sitting in his car, anxious about meeting Consuela's family. Heartbroken and annoyed, Consuela hangs up. Over the course of the next two years, David introduces his friend, George, in a subtlety cruel and back-handed manner at a poetry conference; his friend collapses on the stage and later passes away. David's son Kenny is embroiled in an affair.

Two years pass before Consuela and David come in contact again. On New Year's Eve, David arrives home to find a message from Consuela. She mentions that she needs to tell him something before he finds out from someone else. At his apartment, Consuela announces that she has found a lump in her breast and will need surgery. Grief-stricken, David cries and asks her why she didn't tell him sooner. Consuela then asks David to take photos of her breasts, before the doctors 'ruin' them in the surgery. David agrees.

In the final scene, David visits Consuela at the hospital where she is recovering from her surgery. Consuela says, "I will miss you". David responds, "I am here" as he climbs into the hospital bed and gently kisses her face. In a fantasy scene, the film flashes back to David and Consuela on the beach where Consuela told David she loves him..