Sylvia DVD Review

"SYLVIA" reviews

DVD

SYLVIA

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-10-26 11:16:32

Provider

MRIB

DVD Review

This biopic from director Christine Jeffs charts Purlitzer Prize-winning poet Sylvia Plath's (Gwyneth Paltrow) life from her early days in Cambridge - when she met fellow poet and future husband Ted Hughes (Daniel Craig) - to the time of her suicide seven years later, taking in her highs, lows and internal struggles along the way.

Jeffs' take on the life of Plath has proved contentious at best. Sylvia's daughter, Frieda Hughes, has publicly denounced this interpretation of her mother's relationship with her dad and refused the producers permission to use any substantial chunks of Sylvia's poetry in the film.

We'll never know what exactly was going on in Plath's head so a certain amount of artistic licence (if not poetic) must be allowed. The film does have it's high points, most significantly Michael Gambon's turn as Plath's London neighbour in which he provides some much needed light relief to what is essentially a very bleak film while Paltrow has obviously spent a great deal of time working on her interpretation of the character.

Extras on the DVD include a behind the scenes featurette which includes interviews with cast and crew, and on-set footage and the original theatrical trailer.

Copyright © MRIB 2005.