Elegy

Phillip Roth's obsession with his own libido has rarely led him to interesting places. "Elegy," which is based on a Roth novel, plays like a sexualized version of "Old Yeller".

Ben Kingsley is David Kepesh, a professor who falls for Consuela, a student of his played by Penelope Cruz. A habitual loner, Kapesh has always avoided serious romantic entanglements. But Consuela is different, because she is very, very hot. Also, she is 30 years his junior. "Elegy" continually reminds of these facts with seductive shots of Cruz and tiresome montages of Kingsley looking wistfully into the distance as he contemplates his mortality.

There is a bit more to "Elegy". Kepesh's friend George (Dennis Hopper) comes to terms with his marital infidelity, but pays no real price for it. Kepesh also has an ongoing relationship with Carolyn (Patricia Clarkson), who tells him she is "one in a million" because she asks for sex and nothing else. (And what more could a man possibly want?) Finally, Kepesh comes to a begrudging reconciliation with his son Kenny (Peter Sarsgaard), whom he abandoned as a child. (Kepesh hilariously defends himself by observing that Kenny went on to become a successful doctor.)

Mostly, though, "Elegy" is about Consuela and a tragedy that befalls her. This calamity is awful because she is very, very hot.

"Elegy" works hard to give the impression that it is a serious film. There is plenty of tasteful cinematography and music. The top-shelf cast delivers solid work. Consuela's tragedy makes the film appear somber and deep. Even the title has been changed from Roth's book, "The Dying Animal," to the more elegant "Elegy". But at its heart, this movie is about a pathetically lonely, horny old man--Hugh Hefner without the endless parade of 24-year-old blondes.