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Sylvia
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Sylvia (2003) -- hv post
Sylvia (2003) -- Story of the relationship between the poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath.

Overview

User Rating:
6.1/10   3,760 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 20% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Christine Jeffs
Writer:
John Brownlow (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Sylvia on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 January 2004 (Greece) more
Tagline:
Life was too small to contain her...
Plot:
Story of the relationship between the poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
(62 articles)
Daniel Craig moves into Sheridan's 'Dream House'
 (From ioncinema. 24 June 2009)

Christine Jeffs ('Sunshine Cleaning')
 (From digitalspy. 23 June 2009, 10:00 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Start From the Beginning. more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

David Birkin ... Morecambe
Alison Bruce ... Elizabeth
Amira Casar ... Assia Wevill

Daniel Craig ... Ted Hughes

Blythe Danner ... Aurelia Plath
Lucy Davenport ... Doreen
Julian Firth ... James Michie
Jeremy Fowlds ... Mr. Robinson

Michael Gambon ... Professor Thomas

Sarah Guyler ... Ted's Cambridge Girlfriend

Jared Harris ... Al Alvarez
Andrew Havill ... David Wevill
Theresa Healey ... 3rd Woman at Ted Hughes' Lecture
Liddy Holloway ... Martha Bergstrom

Robyn Malcolm ... 1st Woman at Ted Hughes' Lecture
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Ted and Sylvia (USA) (working title)
The Beekeeper's Daughter (UK) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for sexuality/nudity and language.
Runtime:
110 min | USA:100 min | Canada:114 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
Cornwall, England, UK more
Company:
BBC Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Sylvia Plath's daughter and literary executor, Frieda Hughes, not only refused to cooperate with the producers or allow them access to her mother's poetry, but also publicly denounced the project in a published poem of her own. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: Orchestrator Nick Ingman is credited in the end credits as Nick Ingham more
Quotes:
Sylvia: You probably just think I'm some ghastly American bitch, don't you?
Professor Thomas: God no, I thought you were Canadian.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Music by Gabriel Yared (2005) (V) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
20 out of 24 people found the following comment useful:-
Start From the Beginning., 5 August 2004
4/10
Author: loveandrevolutions from New York City

When I rented this movie, I thought it would be about Sylvia's entire life, or at least starting from her days at Smith College. I didn't realize that her marriage with Ted Hughes would be the entire storyline. I think this movie would've been better had they shown more about Plath's life BEFORE Ted Hughes. For people who don't really know much about Plath and her poetry, understanding her life before Hughes would've made the film much more substantial. The audience has to realize that Plath led a very, very hard mental life even before she met Hughes, and her ideas for her poetry and 'The Bell Jar' mostly originated from her bachelorette days. She never recovered from her depression as a young woman and it branched out still as she married Hughes. Without understanding Plath from the beginning hinders the audience from understanding Plath at all.

I feel like the movie only told half the story. Plath's mind was beautiful, colorful, and brilliant. It wasn't just about the jealousy, depression, and paranoia. Putting her works on the back burner really took away most of this movie. I would've liked to see more narration by Plath and giving us an insight into her mind, the way her unabridged journals do. However, I really enjoyed the dialogue of this movie; the lines were poetic and beautiful.

Unfortunately, I am still waiting for a better Sylvia Plath movie. I recommend people to read 'The Bell Jar' and 'Ariel' before or after seeing this movie though.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Sylvia (2003)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Jennifer Jason Leigh would be a FANTASTIC Sylvia amaudet-2
Poem in the boat pinkfloyd70
What was Sylvia burning outside..... elizabethdetroit
Another tragedy for the family - Nicholas Hughes commits suicide stadler-3
major fault with the film lilmizz_jess
Insulting the-real-tabula-rasa
more

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