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Possession

  • 20022002
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 42m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
13K
YOUR RATING
Jennifer Ehle, Jeremy Northam, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Aaron Eckhart in Possession (2002)
Theatrical Trailer from USA Films
Play trailer1:46
1 Video
45 Photos
DramaMysteryRomance
A pair of literary sleuths unearth the amorous secret of two Victorian poets only to find themselves falling under a passionate spell.A pair of literary sleuths unearth the amorous secret of two Victorian poets only to find themselves falling under a passionate spell.A pair of literary sleuths unearth the amorous secret of two Victorian poets only to find themselves falling under a passionate spell.
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
13K
YOUR RATING
    • Neil LaBute
  • Writers
    • A.S. Byatt(novel)
    • David Henry Hwang(screenplay)
    • Laura Jones(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Gwyneth Paltrow
    • Aaron Eckhart
    • Jeremy Northam
    • Neil LaBute
  • Writers
    • A.S. Byatt(novel)
    • David Henry Hwang(screenplay)
    • Laura Jones(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Gwyneth Paltrow
    • Aaron Eckhart
    • Jeremy Northam
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 184User reviews
    • 84Critic reviews
    • 52Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Possession (2002)
    Trailer 1:46
    Watch Possession (2002)

    Photos45

    Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart in Possession (2002)
    Jennifer Ehle and Jeremy Northam in Possession (2002)
    Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart in Possession (2002)
    Gwyneth Paltrow in Possession (2002)
    Aaron Eckhart in Possession (2002)
    Jeremy Northam in Possession (2002)
    Jennifer Ehle in Possession (2002)
    Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart in Possession (2002)
    Jennifer Ehle and Jeremy Northam in Possession (2002)
    Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart in Possession (2002)
    Jennifer Ehle and Jeremy Northam in Possession (2002)
    Jennifer Ehle, Jeremy Northam, and Neil LaBute in Possession (2002)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gwyneth Paltrow
    Gwyneth Paltrow
    • Maud Bailey
    Aaron Eckhart
    Aaron Eckhart
    • Roland Michell
    Jeremy Northam
    Jeremy Northam
    • Randolph Henry Ash
    Jennifer Ehle
    Jennifer Ehle
    • Christabel LaMotte
    Lena Headey
    Lena Headey
    • Blanche Glover
    Holly Aird
    Holly Aird
    • Ellen Ash
    Toby Stephens
    Toby Stephens
    • Fergus Wolfe
    Trevor Eve
    Trevor Eve
    • Cropper
    Tom Hickey
    Tom Hickey
    • Blackadder
    Georgia Mackenzie
    Georgia Mackenzie
    • Paola
    Tom Hollander
    Tom Hollander
    • Euan
    Graham Crowden
    Graham Crowden
    • Sir George
    Anna Massey
    Anna Massey
    • Lady Bailey
    Craig Crosbie
    Craig Crosbie
    • Hildebrand
    Christopher Good
    Christopher Good
    • Crabb-Robinson
    Elodie Frenck
    Elodie Frenck
    • Sabine
    Victoria Bensted
    • Woman in Hotel
    Shelley Conn
    Shelley Conn
    • Candi
      • Neil LaBute
    • Writers
      • A.S. Byatt(novel)
      • David Henry Hwang(screenplay)
      • Laura Jones(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A large part of Church Street in Whitby was dressed to give it the appearance of a 18/19th century fishing town. Gwyneth Paltrow insisted that the whole place was screened off so that she was not visible to the small crowd of on-lookers. Jeremy Northam, however, took time to go and talk about the film to the bystanders. Miss Paltrow also turned down an offer from the local dignitaries to meet the mayor and be shown around the town. The Whitby Gazette carried a massive banner headline declaring "PALTROW SNUBS WHITBY".
    • Goofs
      Everyone was handling rare, old documents with their bare hands. Anyone doing this kind of research would know to wear gloves to protect the fragile paper. Gwyneth Paltrow handled them with blithe disregard because her mother is Blythe Danner.
    • Quotes

      Christabel LaMotte: I cannot let you burn me up, nor can I resist you. No mere human can stand in a fire and not be consumed.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: xXx/Spy Kids 2/Possession (2002)
    • Soundtracks
      Possesso
      Performed by Ramón Vargas

      Conducted by Gabriel Yared

      Music by Gabriel Yared

      Original lyrics by Peter Gosling

      Italian translation: Michela Antonello

      Orchestra leader: Cathy Thompson

      Produced by Gabriel Yared and Graham Walker

    User reviews184

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    pretty to look at, but have the filmmakers understood the book?
    This film offers some gorgeous visuals and some great performances - notably those by Jeremy Northam and Jennifer Ehle (a bit of a casting joke since those two are famous for playing Jane Austen's Mr. Knightley and Elisabeth Bennet, respectively) - but as a literary adaptation, the movie falls short on too many points. Sadly, the filmmakers have missed out on most of the central themes of the novel, without substituting a sufficiently interesting interpretation of their own.

    A.S. Byatt's novel examines the shifting relationships between men and women a century and a half apart - to that end, the characters in the two storylines (the Victorian and the contemporary) mirror each other deliberately. For some unfathomable reason, the screenwriters have decided to cut out completely two crucial characters from the modern-time storyline - Val, Roland's girlfriend, and the feminist (and Lesbian) researcher friend of Maud's, whose name I forget - their equivalents in the Victorian period are Ash's wife, and Christabel's lover Blanche.

    One of the main interests of the original story lies in the ways in which the relationships between those characters have changed because of the changes in society that the 20th century has brought - particularly the way the main characters relate to each other (significantly, Maud is the stronger and more successful person in the modern-time relationship) - but also with respect to all the other characters involved (Roland and Val's relationship, which is based almost exclusively on sex, as contrasted with Ash's and his wife's relationship, which is entirely sex-less - the point here being that in a truly fulfilled relationship, these two things must be in balance).

    Also, the characters, particularly that of Roland, are bent and twisted beyond recognition - I have nothing against Aaron Eckhard or his performance, but he simply plays a completely different character from the Roland Mitchell of the novel - who is *not* brash (nor is he celibate), but has a certain mousy-ness about him that is quite essential to the plot. Also, he is British for a reason, so making him into an American adds a completely wrong dimension to his and Maud's differences. Judging from the director's commentary, the main reason for casting Eckhard was that he's a buddie of director Neil La Bute's - it's a sad thing that the filmmakers decided to twist the character and plot to accomodate the actor, rather than making a more informed casting choice, as I am sure there are plenty of suitable British actors out there that would have fitted the part admirably.

    Gwyneth Paltrow offers a convincing enough performance, and is well-cast as Maud Bailey - a woman whose physical attractiveness stands in the way of her being taken seriously as the bright academic she is. But she is not being given enough scope to be the reserved intellectual she is supposed to be, because her relationship with Roland developes far too quickly, and with not enough plausibility (particularly given a certain lack of chemistry between the two actors) - thereby missing another of the main themes (and contrasts) in the novel.

    Having said that, the film is worth watching for its final five minutes alone - and incidentally, this is the one scene that catches most accurately the spirit, and the point, of the original novel.
    helpful•69
    13
    • frodolives
    • Apr 29, 2004

    Details

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    • Release date
      • August 30, 2002 (United States)
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Focus Features
      • Warner Bros.
      • Baltimore Spring Creek Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 42 minutes
      • Color
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS

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