Sylvia

So this is a little BBC movie from 2003 starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig about the rise and fall of Sylvia Plath via her relationship with Ted Hughes. Netflix recommended this movie to me, possibly because I was one of the few that laughed at the Plath joke in Easy A? Or possibly because Netflix thinks I'm depressed? Either way, the movie looked interesting enough for me to watch since I really didn't know much about Plath past her infamous ending and that she wrote the Bell Jar.

The movie is directed by Christine Jeffs, who would later direct the quirkily awesome Sunshine Cleaning.  The movie follows the 1960's poet Sylvia Plath, played by Paltrow, who is plagued with insecurities and suicidal tendencies through her relationship with fellow poet Ted Hughes, played by Craig. His philandering doesn't help matters any in this moody period piece.

Obviously, this is a feel good movie that will warm your heart. Aside from the fact that we all know how this will end, the plot was rather interesting. Now, I'm no Plath expert but I did do a little research on the subject and apparently there are some differing opinions on Hughes himself, although everyone else seems to love Plath. They chose to show Hughes in an equivalent light instead of painting him in a darker role. I like that choice since it's all really conjecture anyway. The movie could have benefited from showing Plath at an earlier age, but at least she described her experiences.

It was a BBC film and the cinematography was exactly as you'd expect. The movie could've used some non cliche'd elevator music and better lenses and film quality. There was really nothing in this part of the movie that was worth mentioning. Wait, that's not entirely true. The wardrobe, makeup, and set design deserves some credit as it did have the feel of 1960's England.

Gwyneth Paltrow did a good job I thought. She did these almost unnoticeable little body movements, such a wringing her hands or clenching her dress, just to add to the insecurities Plath had about herself. I really don't know if she captured her or not because I have to admit that I've never read any of her poetry, but she seemed to capture the persona of a unmedicated manic depressive at least. Craig did a nice job, especially when he was reciting poetry or taking his shirt off. Unfortunately his character just reinforced the idea that all men suck.

I'd really only recommend this to Plath fans or fans of depressive movies, unless you have suicidal tendencies, then don't watch! In any event, the actors did a nice job and I learned a little bit more about her history, other than that the movie was somewhat forgettable. "Sometimes I feel like I'm not, solid. I'm hollow. There's nothing behind my eyes. I'm a negative of a person" -- Sylvia.