Highly Overrated But Still Good

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Isabel Coixet's film begins with Ben Kingsley's academic ruminating about art on a peculiarly highbrow television program; but unfortunately the film is to concentrate on a less interesting subject, the eternal attraction of younger women for older men. The rest of the movie invites us to sympathise with poor, elderly Kingsley as he has to deal with the stresses caused by having Penelope Cruz as his girlfriend; even when she gets cancer, it appears that the main consequence of this is that Kingsely is forced to unpleasantly confront his own mortality. If the film was a satire of an inanely self-centred man, it might work: but we're invited instead to view Kingsley's position as an essential tragedy of the human condition. Personally I prefer to take my own sympathy elsewhere.

This was really something, though. The story itself is set up pretty simply, pretty normally and easy to follow, but it's executed in rather different terms. Ben Kingsley is powerful here, delivering all of the notes that are required of him and bringing different shades of depth into the character through little veneers and windows into his mind. Penelope Cruz, as well, does some fabulous work, a turn that would be worthy of countless of nominations, and (seeing as how it came out the same year her all-time great work in Vicky Cristina Barcelona came out( it's rather a shame that she didn't get more traction for this. It's a truly great turn, one that's fused with real sensibility that Cruz may sometimes not get asked to do much.

It's quite slow-paced- perhaps a bit too slow-paced- but the film does have its charms.Ben Kingsley plays David Kepesh, an ageing lecturer who seduces his students. His mid-life crisis is quite tragic to watch, as he pushes away twenty-four-year-old mature student Consuela (Penelope Cruz), despite their love for each other.This is a nice tale about age-gap relationships and whether they can ever work, and about the attempts to find love and settle down when you're in your fifties. The ending is a little melodramatic but the film's not a bad watch, even though the sight of Ben Kingsley topless is not something you'll really want to see.

if Penelope Cruz ever lost some fans it because of this film elegy this film is pure junk see the plot now Ben Kingsley an old man who loves sex & chases young women lays his eyes on hot student the story then gets extended & then sex scenes comes with Penelope showing her naked breasts like some wwe wrestler then comes some gross kissing & more insult for the viewers he is having all that in someone Else's house.i am embarrassed to write a review here this is some shameless.please throw the team into jail for this porn film.as a Cruz fan i am not disappointed because it her style to be sexy & in her most career she did films that promotes sexual & vulgar stuff.don blame her at all she needed some serious money.& Ben is the worst actor ever old guy cant act loves to have sexy only.so for die hard Penelope fans around the world ill tell you this movie does not exist just pretend to believe it.my rating is 1/10 .these guys should hang their heads in shame