| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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David Birkin | ... | Morecambe |
| Alison Bruce | ... | Elizabeth | |
| Amira Casar | ... | Assia Wevill | |
| Daniel Craig | ... | Ted Hughes | |
| Blythe Danner | ... | Aurelia Plath | |
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Lucy Davenport | ... | Doreen |
| Julian Firth | ... | James Michie | |
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Jeremy Fowlds | ... | Mr. Robinson |
| Michael Gambon | ... | Professor Thomas | |
| Sarah Guyler | ... | Ted's Cambridge Girlfriend | |
| Jared Harris | ... | Al Alvarez | |
| Andrew Havill | ... | David Wevill | |
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Theresa Healey | ... | 3rd Woman at Ted Hughes' Lecture |
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Liddy Holloway | ... | Martha Bergstrom |
| Robyn Malcolm | ... | 1st Woman at Ted Hughes' Lecture | |
In 1956, aspiring American poet Sylvia Plath (Gwyneth Paltrow) meets fellow poet Edward James "Ted" Hughes (Daniel Craig) at Cambridge, where she is studying. Enthralled with the genius of his writing, Sylvia falls in love with him even before meeting him, and he quickly falls in love with her. They eventually marry. Sylvia quickly learns that others are also enthralled with her husband, for a combination of his good looks, charisma, fame, and success. Sylvia lives in her husband's professional shadow as she tries to eke out her own writing career, which doesn't come as naturally to her as it does to Ted. She also suspects him of chronic infidelity. Both issues affect Sylvia's already fragile emotional state, she, who once tried to commit suicide earlier in her life. Through her pain and her anger, she does gain minor success as a writer, with a completed semi-autobiographical novel and a few well received collection of poems. Following, she tries to regain some happiness in her life ... Written by Huggo
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.